Memories
by Akirafanatic
Summary: Just a bunch of one shots containing the Kominato brothers. None will be continued from what they are now unless I get a whole lot of reviews asking for more. If you have ideas for this, pm me or put it in a review and I'll do my best to get it up. Some chapters will be AU.
1. Nii-tan

**Ryousuke is around 12/13 in this and Haruichi is 3**

**Since we never hear their parents names, I named them after their children.**

/

"I'm going to be late," Ryousuke said as his mother took yet another picture of him in his uniform.

"Oh you'll be fine," His mother tutted. "Besides, it's your first game of middle school! You look so cute in your uniform!" Ryousuke sighed as more and more pictures were taken.

"Honey," Ryousuke's father said, "He really will be late if we don't start leaving here soon."

His wife pouted and said, "You two are no fun." She looked around and asked, "Where's Haruichi?"

"He wanted to get ready by himself," Ryousuke's father, Ryounosuke, said. "He's still in his room."

"Haruichi!" Their mother, Haruna, called up the stairs. "Are you ready yet?"

"No go!" A little voice called back.

Haruna looked at her husband and asked, "Did something happen?" Ryounosuke shook his head in confusion.

Before Haruna could head upstairs, Ryousuke said, "I'll get him," And went up instead. Ryousuke opened the door to his and his little brothers room, only to find Haruichi and the rest of their room covered in a mixture of their clothes. "Haruichi?" Ryousuke called.

Haruichi sniffed and turned to his big brother with watery eyes. "Nii-tan," He said, holding out his arms. Ryousuke sighed with a small smile and went over, picking Haruichi up.

"What's the matter?" He asked, gently rubbing circles on Haruichi's back.

"No go," Haruichi said, burying his head into Ryousuke's shoulder.

"Why not?"

"No wea." Ryousuke frowned as he looked around the room. His brother only had a limited vocabulary, so sometimes trying to figure out what he was trying to say or what he meant was a challenge, though it was fairly clear that Haruichi was saying he didn't have anything to wear.

"What do you mean? You have plenty of clothes." He bent down and picked up one of Haruichi's favorite shirts. It was light blue and had a baseball on the front. "How about this?"

"No!" Haruichi yelled. "Nii-tan! Wanna wea Nii-tan!"

"…Wear…me?" Now Ryousuke was stumped. It wasn't possible to wear someone else, and he had no idea what Haruichi was wanting. Judging from how some of his clothes were also strewn across the floor he assumed Haruichi wanted to wear his clothes. "Then…How about this?" He picked up one of his old shirts that had the English word Star on the front.

"No! Wea Nii-tan! Wea Nii-tan!" Haruichi was about to start crying at this point and Ryousuke was about to start panicking until he noticed Haruichi was pulling on his new jersey.

"You want to…wear this?" Ryousuke guessed, pulling on his jersey a bit.

Haruichi brightened up and nodded, "Wea Nii-tan!"

"You can't wear this, I need it today." Tears welled up in Haruichi's eyes again.

"No…No wea Nii-tan?" Now the tears were tailing down the three year olds face and Ryousuke was frantically looking around, trying to find something to get Haruichi to stop crying.

He spotted something perfect and smiled down at Haruichi. "Come on Haruichi," He said, bouncing his baby brother up and down a few times, "Don't cry. You can't wear this one, but I have something else you can wear instead." Haruichi sniffled and rubbed one of his eyes as he stared up at his brother. Ryousuke placed Haruichi on his bed and ruffled his hair. "Wait right here."

He turned and picked up one of the slightly buried shirts before placing it around Haruichi's shoulders and buttoning it up. "It's not the same one," He said as he finished buttoning it up, "But will this do?" It was one of his older jerseys he had when he was on a local little league team back in elementary school. Haruichi looked from the jersey he was wearing to the one his brother had on and back to his before his face lit up in a bright smile.

"Wea Nii-tan! Hawoti wea Nii-tan!" He started bouncing up and down and clapping his hands together. Ryousuke laughed both at his brothers pronunciation on his own name and how happy an old jersey made him. Ryousuke picked Haruichi up again and headed downstairs to his parents.

"Are we finally ready?" Ryounosuke asked with a smile. Ryousuke nodded.

Haruna squealed when she saw Haruichi. "You're so cute!" She said, snapping even more pictures.

"Alright," Ryounosuke said, pushing his sons and his wife out the door, "We don't want to be late. Haruna, you can take more pictures when we get there." Haruna huffed but helped Haruichi buckle into his car seat before getting into the passengers' seat.

"Good luck sweetie," Haruna said to Ryousuke before they split ways.

"Have fun out there," Ryounosuke said, ruffling his sons hair.

"Nii-tan!" Haruichi called, holding his arms out to his brother. Ryousuke took Haruichi from his mother and received a hug from his baby brother. Ryousuke kissed the top of Haruichi's head and handed him back to his mother before he waved and went to meet up with his team.

/

**REVIEW! Tell me what you think about it and give me ideas for more one shots! I have some, but I really want to keep writing and your ideas will help me write more and to get more ideas!**

**I doubt I'll make any longer than a one shot, but if you all really, really, REALLY want me to write more for something, let me know and I'll see about it.**


	2. I love you

**Ryousuke is 15 in this and Haruichi is 13.**

**/**

"How much longer?" Ryousuke whispered as he stroked Haruichi's hair.

"The doctors don't think he'll last through the winter," Haruna, Ryousuke and Haruichi's mother said with a stifled sob. "T-They said a m-month at b-best." Her voice cracked near the end as she watched her youngest son sleep. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears streamed down her face and muffled her sobs with her sleeve.

Ryounosuke, Ryousuke and Haruichi's father, pulled his wife close and put his chin atop her head. He guided her out of the room before she completely broke down, leaving Ryousuke alone with his sleeping little brother. For a while, it was silent in the room save for the steady beeping that indicated Haruichi's heart rate.

To Ryousuke, barely any time passed before his parents came back in and told him it was time to leave. He silently stood up and gave Haruichi a kiss on the forehead before mechanically making his way out the door and to the car.

Before he could get in, his mother pulled him back into a hug. She was quiet for a while before she said, "The doctors think we should bring him home for…until he…so he can spend…the rest of the month…in a familiar place and surrounded by family. They…They think it'll make him happier…in the…in the end."

Ryousuke nodded, but didn't say anything. How could he? His little brother was dying and the doctors couldn't do anything about it, so they were sending him home to give themselves more room for patients they might actually be able to cure. Haruna gave her son one last squeeze before letting go and getting into the car.

When home, Ryousuke slipped off his shoes and slowly made his way upstairs. He bypassed his room and went straight to Haruichi's. For a moment, all he did was stand in the doorway and take in the room.

A baseball bat was leaning in a corner, glove on the desk next to it along with school books and manga. The bed was still messy from when Haruichi had gotten up that fateful day two months ago. A jacket was draped on the back of the desk chair, the same place it always was. Pictures of family and friends lined the top of the bookshelf filled with books, games, movies, trophies and old stuffed animals.

The curtains were drawn back, letting the light from the sinking sun in and casting a glow about everything. Ryousuke felt his heart clench. This was wrong. Haruichi's room had always been alive, his younger brother always doing something, having something playing or simply _being_ there. Now…now it was empty. Silent. Dead.

Ryousuke walked forward and sat on the bed, running his hands over the sheets and feeling how _cold_ they were. It made Ryousuke cold, knowing they should have been warm from Haruichi sleeping in them. The room shouldn't feel so empty when it looked so full. Haruichi shouldn't be dying in a hospital bed when he was so young. Ryousuke didn't realize he was crying until he saw his tears hit his hand.

He dove forward and curled up with one of Haruichi's pillows, burying his face into it and breathing in the scent that was his little brother. He sobbed into the pillow, his mind flashing back on all the times he's yelled at his brother or been mean to him and whishing he could go back and fix those times, could go and be a better brother.

He remembered the look on Haruichi's face when he learned his older brother was going far away for high school, to the look on his face when Ryousuke had told him not to follow.

He remembered all the times Haruichi would have a nightmare and come to him instead of his parents, to the time he'd started teaching Haruichi how to play baseball. He remembered the first time Haruichi had called him Onii-chan, remembered each time his little brother would smile at him after being given a praise.

At some point, his tears ran out and his memories faded into dreams of the past. His mother and father came to tuck him in at some point during the night, brushing his hair from his face and telling him how much they loved him before heading off to their own bed to get some sleep.

In the morning, Ryousuke went with his father to pick up Haruichi while his mother stayed home to clean the house a little.

Ryousuke smiled when Haruichi greeted him and his father. He nearly ran forward and hugged his little brother tight, trying not to think about how much longer they had together before he'd be gone forever. He helped Haruichi out of bed and nearly carried him to the car, causing Haruichi to laugh. Ryousuke couldn't help but notice that Haruichi didn't protest to the support.

Haruna tried not to cry as she held her son when they got home. She dragged Haruichi to the couch and made him sit, putting a pillow behind his head and a blanket around his shoulders. She kept asking if he was comfortable enough, warm enough, hungry, thirsty or tired.

"I'm fine," Haruichi said with a soft smile at his mothers' antics.

"Are you sure?" Haruna asked, fluttering around her baby. Haruichi nodded and Haruna nodded. "If you say so. I'm going to make some tea, would you like some?" Haruichi nodded.

Ryousuke sat down next to his little brother and took the pillow, arranging it onto his lap before guiding Haruichi to lay down. He smiled at Haruichi's pouting face and started running his fingers through his brothers hair.

When Haruichi fell asleep, Ryousuke gently carried him upstairs, changed him into pajamas and tucked him in. He sat on the edge of the bed, his mind blank, as he watched Haruichi sleep. It was almost surreal, the way he didn't feel anything. He didn't feel the overwhelming sadness he did yesterday, or the despair of losing his brother, the anger at the injustice of the situation or the guilt of not being there all those times before.

He was simply numb, watching but not seeing the slight flutter to Haruichi's eyelashes, the rise and fall of his chest and the twitch to his fingers.

Ryousuke laid down beside his brother and continued to watch until his own eyelids felt heavy and slowly slid shut. Before he fell asleep, he pulled Haruichi close and held him as though if he let go, Haruichi would be gone.

The weeks passed by slowly for the Kominato family, though they wished it wouldn't have felt so fast. Haruichi was almost always asleep, and couldn't get out of bed. The times he was awake, his voice was so soft and his eyes were half closed. Ryounosuke and Haruna had taken the week off to spend with their sons, and Ryousuke refused to leave Haruichi's side, even when said teen was asleep.

Snow slowly started drifting down, dancing in the wind and swirling to the frozen earth. Haruichi smiled as he watched from his place next to his big brother. Ryousuke had his arms around Haruichi and his head resting on top of his little brothers'.

The sun was slowly rising, light shimmering through the swirling flakes and shadows sweeping across the wall; turning, twisting and tumbling along. Haruichi shifted, causing Ryousuke to look down at him. He bit his lip to stop from crying at how pale and weak Haruichi looked.

"Onii-chan," Haruichi whispered, glancing up at Ryousuke. He smiled and closed his eyes, head resting against his older brothers chest. "I love you." These words were breathed out, so quiet Ryousuke almost didn't hear them.

Ryousuke let the tears fall as he clutched lifeless body of his little brother closer to himself. He shook with sobs and buried his face into Haruichi's hair. "I love you too little brother," Ryousuke choked out quietly. He squeezed Haruichi's body tighter, as though trying letting him go would truly mean he was gone.

"I love you too."

/

**I hate writing such sad things like this, it makes me cry. This wouldn't leave me alone though! Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought, give me ideas or suggestions, ect...**

**Depending, I may use your suggestions! So please! REVIEW!**


	3. Sick Day

**Haruichi is 7 and Ryousuke is 9 1/2**

**/**

"Onii-chan!" Haruichi called happily as he ran into Ryousuke's room. Ryousuke groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head. Haruichi ignored this and climbed onto Ryousuke's bed. "Onii-chan!" He called again, shaking Ryousuke's shoulder, "Wake up! Wake up Onii-chan! You promised to play with me today! Wake up!"

When Ryousuke didn't move Haruichi pouted. He crawled over the lump that was his brother and started tugging on the blanket. "Onii-chan! Wake up! You promised! Onii-chan! Onii-"Ryousuke cut his little brother off by grabbing his around the waist and pulling him closer.

"I'm tired," Ryousuke yawned, putting his chin atop Haruichi's head, "I'll play with you later, but for now, just let me sleep." Haruichi squirmed and twisted until he was in a more comfortable position.

"Onii-chan?" He asked, trying to look up at his big brother. Ryousuke didn't answer. When Haruichi realized Ryousuke had fallen back asleep he puffed out his cheeks and started squirming. "Don't wanna! Don't wanna go back to sleep! Onii-chan!" Ryousuke tightened his hold on his little brother to keep him from thrashing about too much.

Haruichi whined in protest and kept trying to get free. "Onii-chan!"

"What's going on in here?" Haruna asked as she entered the room. "Haruichi, you're being too loud."

"But Onii-chan promised to play with me!" Haruichi whined, straining to look at his mother from where he was trapped. "He promised but now he won't wake up!" Haruna giggled as she watched her youngest son try and fail to escape Ryousuke's grasp.

"That still doesn't mean you should yell so loudly," Ryounosuke scolded his son as he came and stood behind his wife. "You're bothering the neighbors."

"And Ryousuke," Haruna said, "It's late already, you should get out of bed." She raised an eyebrow when Ryousuke simply pulled Haruichi closer and buried his face into his younger brothers hair. Haruna and Ryounosuke looked at each other before Haruna went forward and sat on the edge of the bed. "Ryousuke," She said, pulling down the covers a bit, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm tired," Ryousuke muttered. Haruna reached forward and put a hand on his forehead, pushing bangs out of his eyes at the same time.

"You're a little warm. I'll bring some medicine up in a little bit, and if you're tired then get some sleep. Come on Haruichi," She reached over Ryousuke grabbed Haruichi , "Ryousuke will play with you tomorrow." She tried to take Haruichi, but Ryousuke tightened his grip, not letting him go. "Ryousuke?"

"He's warm," Ryousuke said by way of explanation.

"Well, alright then." Haruna let go of Haruichi and fixed him with a stern glare. "I don't want to hear any more yelling from you, alright? Your brother is sick and needs his sleep. He'll play with you tomorrow, alright."

Haruichi nodded but didn't look very happy about it. Haruna smiled and ruffled his hair, placing a kiss on both her son's heads before she left the room. It was silent in the room for a while as Ryousuke tried to sleep and Haruichi pouted.

"I'm sorry I couldn't play with you today," Ryousuke whispered. Haruichi blinked and wiggled around until he was facing his big brother. Ryousuke smiled down at Haruichi and brushed the bangs out of his little brothers face. "I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow, alright? We'll do whatever you want to the whole day."

Haruichi stared at his brother for a while before he nodded and snuggled closer. Ryousuke yawned and closed his eyes. He opened them again when he felt Haruichi moving around and found his little brother looking up at him.

"What's wrong?" Ryousuke asked. Haruichi squirmed out of Ryousuke's grasp and crawled up higher. He kissed Ryousuke on the forehead and beamed at his older brother before lying back down and snuggling up to his brother. "What was that for?" Ryousuke asked in amusement.

"So Onii-chan can get better faster!" Haruichi giggled. Ryousuke chuckled and pulled Haruichi closer to him. "Goodnight Onii-chan," Haruichi whispered.

"Goodnight Haruichi," Ryousuke whispered back, pulling the covers up over both of them.

When Haruna came back in with lunch and some medicine, she smiled as both her sons were sleeping soundly. Haruichi was curled up close to Ryousuke, one of his hands next to his mouth and another clutching part of his big brothers pajamas. He was using one of Ryousuke's arms as a pillow. Ryousuke had one arm under Haruichi's head and another draped across his little brothers stomach.

Haruna snapped a few pictures with her phone after she set down the tray. Only when she had a multitude to show off to her friends and coworkers did she pull the covers up over the two and give them each a kiss on the head. She pulled the curtains closed and turned off the light, closing the door as she left the room.

/

**Tell me your thoughts and ideas if you have any!**

**Thank you so much to Maiden Warrior who was my first reviewer! I promise you'll see some of the ideas you left in here!**


	4. I hate you

**Ryousuke: 13  
Haruichi: 10**

**Here's a little Thanksgiving treat since I probably won't post tomorrow. Next chapter will be up sometime Friday ;P**

**/**

"Ne, Onii-chan," I sighed as Haruichi started talking. It was Saturday and I had been planning on going to the park to work on my swings when Haruichi decided to tag along. It seemed like any time I wanted to go out and do something Haruichi was right behind me.

It was cute when we were younger, but now it was more annoying than anything. It was like he couldn't do anything for himself. If I wanted something, Haruichi wanted it to. If I got one flavor of ice cream, Haruichi would get the same thing. No matter what I did, Haruichi did the same thing.

I twitched when Haruichi grabbed my arm. "You'll help me, right?" He asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

"I have to work on my own swing," I said, silently begging him to just leave me alone already.

"Then will you help me when you're done?"

"I'm going for a run when I'm done with my swings."

"Ah! I'll go with you! Then we can-"

"No! Can't you take a hint? I want to be _alone!_ Having you following me around is really getting annoying! Are you so stupid that you have to copy everything I do?" I stepped forward and pushed him back, "Are you that much of an idiot that you can't do anything on your own? I'm sick of you following me around like this!" I pushed him back again, "Just go back home!" Another push, "I don't want you around! I hate you!"

I pushed him so hard he fell down before I turned around and stomped the rest of the way to the park, not bothering to see if he'd do as I said and head home. When I got to my normal practice spot I started swinging my bat as hard as I could. Haruichi really knew how to piss me off.

I don't know how long I stood there, swinging my bat before I finally stopped. When I looked up at the sky though, it was getting dark which meant I should start heading home soon. I grumbled at the thought of having my parents yell at me because Haruichi had ran crying to them.

When I got inside I put my bat down and kicked off my shoes. "I'm home!" I called out, making my way to the kitchen where I knew my mother would be.

I was prepared to face her wrath, so I was surprised when she smiled at me and said, "Welcome home Ryousuke." I must have looked shocked because she asked me if I was alright.

"I'm fine," I told her, slowly backing up, "I'm going to go finish my homework now."

"Alright then. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so." I nodded and turned, running up the stairs. I made a beeline for Haruichi's room, wanting to demand why he didn't rat me out but my words died on my lips when I saw his room was empty.

I frowned. If he hadn't come home then where was he? I shook my head. He probably ran into one of his friends and was still hanging out with them. _'Mom's probably not freaking out because he called her or something.'_ I thought. With a shrug, I went to my room to finish my homework like I said I'd do.

Haruichi still wasn't home when dinner was ready, but since mom and dad didn't seem to worry I assumed they knew where he was. It was weird, how quiet dinner was. Normally Haruichi was excitedly telling mom and dad about something that had happened or was smiling and laughing about something. I kept glancing at Haruichi's chair, guilt gnawing at me and diminishing my appetite.

I kept pushing my food around my plate, not eating very much. I knew I shouldn't have yelled at him or pushed him, but he really needed to learn how to do his own things, be his own person. He can't just copy me for the rest of his life.

"What's the matter?" My dad asked, noticing I wasn't eating much.

"Nothing," I muttered, "Just a little tired."

"Why don't you go to bed then?" My mom suggested. "I hope you're not coming down with something." I nodded and gathered up my plates before putting them in the sink. Before I could head upstairs though my mom handed me a bottle of medicine. "Take this up to Haruichi, will you? He said he didn't feel good when he came home earlier and fell asleep before he could take any."

I suddenly felt cold. "Haruichi….came home?" I asked, staring up at my mom.

She looked confused as she nodded. "Yes, he came home earlier today saying he didn't feel good. Why?" I dropped the medicine and ran up the stairs, hoping that I'd just missed him when I checked earlier. I nearly slammed his door open and looked all around the room, going and pulling open the closet before I ran to the bathroom and checked in there.

"Ryousuke," My father said, stopping me before I could run back to Haruichi's room, "What's going on?"

"He's gone," I said, my eyes wide and frantic. "M-Mom said he came home earlier, but I can't find him. H-He's not here."

"Slow down," My dad told me, "Deep breaths. What do you mean he's not here?"

"H-Haruichi. I…I got mad at him earlier and…and I yelled at him. I…I told him he was stupid….and pushed him….and…and I said I…I said I hated him." I sniffed and rubbed at my eyes. "Mom…Mom said he came home…but he's not…he's not here. He…He probably ran…ran away." I was sobbing now, rubbing my eyes and trying to wipe the tears away. "I…I didn't mean it…I…I just wanted…I just wanted him to…to leave me alone for…for one day."

"Ryousuke," I looked up at my parents. My dad looked disappointed and my mom looked upset. "What you did was a horrible thing," My mom said, bending down, "Your brother loves you very much. He idolizes you and only wants your attention. You should have just asked him to stay home instead of yelling at him and pushing him. Hearing the person he loves the most in the world tell him he's stupid and hearing his beloved older brother hates him really upset him."

"He's your little brother Ryousuke," My dad said, picking me up, "I know how annoying little siblings can get, but yelling and hurting them doesn't solve anything. Would you like it if Haruichi suddenly yelled that he hated you?" I shook my head. He may be annoying, but he's still my little brother. I'd hate it if he said he hated me.

"You need to apologize to your brother," My mom said.

"But…But he's not here! He…He's gone and it…it's my fault!" I buried my head into my dad's shoulder and cried. Haruichi could have been hurt and scared and lonely and-

"Onii-chan?"

-and crying and-

"Onii-chan?"

I looked up and turned my head. Sitting on our parents bed, stuffed animal clutched in his grasp and dried tears on his cheeks was Haruichi. I felt new tears well up in my eyes and jumped out of my dad's hold, running and tackling Haruichi to the bed.

I pulled him close and hugged him tight, sobbing into his hair. I felt Haruichi begin to shake and felt my shirt begin to get wet from his tears as he wrapped his arms around me and started crying as well. I don't know how long I was crying for, but Haruichi and I were wet from each other's tears and both had hiccups.

"I *hic* I thought you were gone," I said as I gradually stopped crying. "I *hic* I didn't mean it, *hic* when I said *hic* when I said those things."

"You don't *hic* you don't h-hate me?" Haruichi asked as he looked up at me.

I shook my head. "You *hic* you can be an -*hic*-annoying at times, but *hic* but you're *hic* you're my little brother and *hic* and I love you."

Haruichi started crying again and squeezed me tight as he said, "I…I love Onii-chan! I don't *hic* I don't want Onii-chan to…to ever leave o-or to….to ever hate me!"

I clutched Haruichi tighter. "I…I promise. I *hic* I'll never leave…never leave Haruichi. I…I also *hic* also promise I…I'll never hate Haruichi."

"I…" Haruichi started as he sniffled and looked up at me, "I promise…promise not to…not to annoy Onii…Onii-chan and…and to leave…to leave him alone when…when he asks." I held out a pinky finger and he wrapped his in mine as we promised.

When it was done he buried his head in my chest and clung on tightly. "I l…I love you O-Onii-chan." He whispered.

I tightened my grip on him. "I love you too, Haruichi, I love you too."

/

**Thoughts and ideas are very much welcome!**


	5. Nightmares

**Ages up to your discretion.**

**Dedicated to Maiden Warrior who was the first to review! Thank you so much!**

/

_Blood was everywhere. I stared in horror at the amount of bodies that littered the ground. People from school, the nice shop owner who would give me a cookie every day after school, my teachers, my friends and my parents. I wanted to scream, to cry, to look away, anything; but I was frozen to the spot, forced to take in the horrible scene._

_I didn't know what happened. One moment I was with Onii-chan who was helping me with my homework, then everything changed and I was suddenly in a sea of bodies. I saw a shadow in the mirror in front of me and just __**knew**__ it was the person who'd done all this. I tried to run or at least turn around, but I was still frozen._

_He came closer and closer until he was right behind me, and I still couldn't move. I could see the tears running down my cheeks but I couldn't feel them. Rows of razor sharp teeth became visible as he smiled. They were stained red from the blood of the bodies that surrounded us._

_He slowly reached forward and I screamed, trying to get my body to move. "Haruichi," He called in a light voice that sent shivers down my spine. "Haruichi." He licked his lips and I screamed again as his hand touched my shoulder._

"Haruichi!" I bolted upright, only to smack my forehead against my older brothers. I saw stars for a few seconds, and when my vision cleared a little bit, I curled up in a ball, tears coming down my face.

"Hey," I curled up tighter when Onii-chan put a hand on my shoulder, traces from the nightmare still lingering. "Come on Haruichi," He said, pulling me onto his lap. I buried my face in his pajamas and hugged him, sobbing. Onii-chan didn't say anything as he started rocking back and forth, rubbing circles on my back.

This was the fifth night in a row I'd woken up from a nightmare like that one. The psychiatrist said it was normal, after….the incident….but I just wanted them to stop. I didn't want to keep seeing the people I cared about dead. I didn't want to be scared to close my eyes, fearing what was waiting for me.

I didn't want to keep Onii-chan up or make him worry anymore.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Onii-chan asked when I'd started to calm down. I held on tighter and shook my head, not looking up at him. I heard him sigh. "It won't get better if you keep it all locked up," He said softly, still rubbing circles on my back.

"I just…just want them to…to stop," I said, my voice hoarse from crying and probably screaming.

"You have to give it time," Onii-chan told me. We went through this same routine every night. I'd wake up crying and screaming, he'd ask to talk about it and I'd refuse and say I wanted them to stop and he'd tell me to be patient.

I wasn't patient. I didn't want to see those dead bodies anymore. I didn't want to constantly fear for my life, or for the lives of those I cared about. I just wanted all this to stop.

"Haruichi," Onii-chan said. I sniffed and looked up at him. "It's alright to be scared," He said softly as he gently wiped away my tears. "You're not the only one."

"You're not s-scared," I said. Onii-chan was the strongest person I knew. He didn't seem scared at all, but had to deal with me screaming every night. It wasn't fair to him.

"Of course I'm scared." I rubbed one of my eyes as I stared at him. "Do you know how terrified I was when it happened? I didn't know what happened. I didn't know if you were alright or had gotten hurt or anything." He pulled me close and ran a hand through my hair. "I was terrified that I had lost you." I laid my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "I wake up every night and have to check and make sure you're still there; have to make sure I didn't really lose you." He held me tighter and I could feel him shaking.

We were silent for a while, simply taking comfort in each other's presence. "Onii-chan," I whispered as my eyelids started getting heavier, "Will you stay here tonight?"

"Of course," He said as he tightened his grip. "I'll stay as long as you want me to." I smiled as I snuggled into his warm embrace. It might be a while before the nightmares ended, but at least I knew Onii-chan would be here with me.

I didn't have any nightmares the rest of the night.

/

**I'll leave 'the incident' that happened up to your imagination ;P**

**Anyway, please review!**


	6. Gone

**No set ages**

**/**

"_I heard there's a monster living there."_

"_Unnatural things happen. Just last week-"_

"_-a demon-"_

"_-idiots! It can probably hear-"_

Ryousuke pulled his hood down lower and tried to block out all the conversations. He hefted the bags of groceries and picked up his pace. He ignored the strange glances he was given and continued through town.

He hated going into town, but they were low on food. Hopefully they'd be able to make everything last for a while. He ran the last stretch to the bus before it could leave and put the coins into the bin before nearly collapsing into an empty seat.

He frowned to himself when the two behind him started talking about the supposed 'monster' living secluded in the woods. _'Don't they have anything better to talk about?'_ Ryousuke thought to himself. He turned his attention out the window, ignoring everyone else.

Multiple stops passed until the bus was empty except for him. Finally, after about an hour and a half of riding, Ryousuke got off. He adjusted all his bags and pulled his hood a little lower before he started trudging into the woods.

He started out on a path for a while before splitting off and weaving through the trees. Before too long, a small house appeared in a clearing. Ryousuke smiled when he saw it and pulled out his key, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Once the door was shut behind him and locked, he pulled down his hood and brought the bags inside, setting them down on the kitchen table. "Haruichi!" He called out as he started putting things away.

He heard a creak behind him and turned to find Haruichi peeking into the kitchen. "Come here," Ryousuke said, reaching his hand out and motioning his younger brother closer. Haruichi darted forward and clung to Ryousuke. "What's the matter?" Ryousuke asked, rubbing a hand on Haruichi's back. Haruichi was shaking and looked close to tears.

"You were later than usual," Haruichi said, burying his head into Ryousuke's shoulder, "I-I thought that…that you were-"

"It's alright," Ryousuke cut him off, "I'm alright. There were more people than usual and I got more than I normally do so it could hopefully last us longer. Here," He put his hand under Haruichi's armpits and lifted his younger brother up. Haruichi wrapped his legs around Ryousuke's waist and kept his face buried in Ryousuke's shoulder.

Ryousuke pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down, rocking slightly and running a hand through Haruichi's hair. When Haruichi started calming down, Ryousuke said, "Let's get all this put away, alright?"

Haruichi rubbed one of his eyes as he pulled back and looked at Ryousuke, nodding silently. Neither spoke as they finished putting everything away.

"Onii-chan," Haruichi said when he and his brother were lying in bed. Ryousuke turned to Haruichi and waited for him to continue. "Are we monsters?"

Ryousuke's eyes shot open and he looked at Haruichi in both surprise and alarm. He pulled Haruichi close and asked in a slightly shaking voice, "Where did you get that idea?"

"We're all alone," Haruichi said, his voice muffled by Ryousuke's pajamas, "And we're not like everyone else." He pushed away from his brother enough so he could look him in the eyes. "Isn't that why mom and dad left us?"

Ryousuke sighed and sat up, bringing Haruichi with him. "We're not monsters," He said softly, looking at Haruichi seriously. "And mom and dad didn't leave us; they were killed. Listen to me Haruichi, they loved us very much. They **never** would have left us by choice."

"But they were killed protecting us," Haruichi said, "We were the ones who should have died." Tears gathered in Haruichi's eyes as he spoke.

"We're different," Ryousuke said softly after a few moments of silence, "But we're **not** monsters. People out there can't understand. They're scared of things that are different, but that doesn't make us monsters. If anything, they're the monsters for killing our parents. Don't ever think that we're the monsters. Do you understand me?" He waited until Haruichi nodded slightly before pulling him into a hug. "We're special; especially you. Don't ever be ashamed to be who you are."

"If I shouldn't be ashamed, why do I have to hide?" Haruichi pushed his brother away, tears back in his eyes. "Why do I have to hide even when nobody else is around?" The temperature in the room started to drop. "If I'm so special; If I should be so proud, why do I have to stay locked up in here? Why can't I at least go outside?"

"Haruichi," Ryousuke began as frost started forming in the room.

"I'm sick of being locked up! I'm tired of hiding when we're the only ones here!"

"Haruichi," Ryousuke tried again, reaching toward his little brother.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE ANYMORE!" Haruichi screamed, wind picking up and snow billowing around the little room. Tears were streaming down Haruichi's cheeks as he got up and tried to run to the door. Ryousuke tackled him to the ground before he could leave, shivering at the freezing temperature in the room.

Haruichi was struggling under him, trying to get away. Ryousuke frowned and slapped Haruichi hard, causing his younger brother to freeze and all the snow and wind to stop. "You're not alone," He said quietly, placing his hands on either side of Haruichi's head. "Don't you **ever** say that you're alone again." He stared at his wide eyed little brother, tears in his eyes. "I'm right here with you. I will **never** leave you alone."

Tears welled up in Haruichi's eyes. "But you're not here all the time," He whispered, looking away from his brother. "You leave, you go outside, you go to town, you walk around with everyone else. You could leave and never come back."

"I told you," Ryousuke said, lowering his head until his forehead was on Haruichi's, "I'm never going to leave you alone."

The two stared at each other before Haruichi closed his eyes and said, "You should." It was so quiet that Ryousuke almost didn't hear it.

Ryousuke felt cold at the words and pain filled his eyes. It was like a knife through his heart. "Is that what you want?" He asked, sitting up. He tilted his head down so his bangs shadowed his eyes. Haruichi sobbed and nodded, his eyes still closed. "I see," Ryousuke said softly as he stood up. Haruichi didn't move. He walked to the door and put his hand on the knob. "I'll be gone in the morning then."

Haruichi waited until the door had shut and he couldn't hear his older brothers' footsteps before he curled up into a ball and cried.

In the morning, Ryousuke was gone.

With a strangled sob and shaking hands, so was Haruichi.

/

**So...um...when I started this...it was supposed to be a happy ending. It was also going to be longer...I don't know what happened.**

**Also, this was partially inspired by the new Disney movie 'Frozen'. Just in case you were wondering, Ryousuke is also included in the 'different' I used. I was originally going to tell you why in the story, since he didn't have the 'powers' that Haruichi did, but I think I'll let you come up with an idea yourself.**

**Anyway, I swear, the next chapter won't be...like this. But, yeah, review :)**


	7. Spying

**Ages same as in Manga/Anime**

**/**

"Why do I have to do this?" Haruichi asked, his face red.

"Because all our managers are busy and Chris is sick," Miyuki said with a grin, shoving the package into Haruichi's arms. The other regulars were scattered around the room, grinning and making sure he couldn't escape.

"Besides," Kuramochi said, trying not to laugh, "You're the only one who could pull it off."

"But-"

"Don't complain," Ryousuke cut him off, "I was voted to go with you, so you won't be the only one."

"But-"

"Come on," Ryousuke said, grabbing Haruichi around the waist and throwing him over his shoulder. Haruichi yelped and struggled, trying to get out of Ryousuke's grasp. It was useless as all the training had made Ryousuke strong.

Kuramochi couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed as the two left the room, causing Haruichi's face to turn a darker shade of red.

"I feel bad for Harucchi," Eijun said after a minute. "We kind of forced this on him."

"He'll get over it," Miyuki said with an easy smile. "Besides, Ryou-san is doing it too."

"But still…" Masuko put a hand on Eijun's shoulder and nodded at him, silently telling him it would be fine.

"Yeah," Kuramochi said, slapping Eijun so hard he fell over, "It'll be perfectly fine. They're just going for a little spying, and with those disguises, nobody'll recognize 'em."

"I still feel bad," Eijun muttered, causing others to roll their eyes or sigh. A few minutes passed with small chatter before a muffled scream was heard next door where the brothers had gone to change. Everyone jolted and piled out the door, heading to see what the scream was about.

Just before Eijun could touch the knob, Miyuki stopped him. He slapped his hand over Eijun's mouth before the younger teen could yell at him. "S-STOP!" Haruichi's voice drifted through the door.

There was a thud of some sort inside the room and laughter from Ryousuke. They couldn't make out what he said, but after there was a sound like someone throwing something and more thuds.

The know to the door jiggled a bit before something slammed into the door. "Where are you going?" Ryousuke asked, his voice right next to the door.

"L-Let go!" Haruichi said.

"Do I have to tie you down and help you change?" Ryousuke asked with a chuckle.

"N-No!"

"Then-"Ryousuke's voice became muffled again as he moved away from the door. It was silent for a while before Haruichi's shouts started up again.

"N-No! O-Onii-chan! I CAN-STOP! NOT-NOT THE-NO! I CAN DO-NO!" Some of the third years started to feel a little bad for the first year.

It was quiet for a while longer before the doorknob jiggled again and the door opened. Miyuki got up off Eijun and stepped away from the door. Eijun scrambled back as Ryousuke came out the door. The shortest third year smiled at the gathered regulars.

He was dressed in a simple, knee-length, black skirt and a white blouse. He had on white ankle socks and black shoes. His hair was up in a black wig that hung down to the middle of his back. A white headband was in the wig.

Jun's hand covered his nose and mouth and he turned away, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up his cheeks. Ryousuke chuckled and stepped aside, tugging Haruichi forward.

Haruichi was wearing a white sundress that barely fell to mid-thigh and white sandals. He wasn't wearing a wig, but a white headband was holding back his bangs so they weren't hanging in front of his eyes anymore. He hand one hand in Ryousuke's and the other was rubbing the tears from one of his eyes.

He flushed at all the gazed and let go of Ryousuke's hand, hiding behind his brother, clutching onto the back of the blouse instead. "We'll be going now," Ryousuke said with a smile, gliding past the frozen regulars and pulling Haruichi behind him.

The two received many stares as they passed. Haruichi kept pressed against Ryousuke, trying unsuccessfully to hide and unknowingly making himself look cuter and gaining more stares.

Ryousuke put an arm around Haruichi and glared at all the guys ogling at them. Some backed off but many smirked, thinking he was flirting. He kept all those who would try and jump them at bay with the bat in his free hand. He figured something like this would happen, so he made sure to grab one before he left.

/Back with the rest of the regulars/

The regulars shuffled into the room they'd been in earlier. They were silent for a while before Kuramochi chuckled nervously, face still a little red. "I didn't think they'd look so cute," He admitted, one hand rubbing the back of his head.

"I had two boys' uniforms to the school their spying on ready," Miyuki said, holding up two different packages.

"Then why did you make them wear…that!" Eijun asked, glaring at the second year.

"I thought it'd be funny," Miyuki admitted with a wide smile. "I was going to let them change before they left and after I got pictures," He held up a camera that had been in his pocket, "But they left before I could tell them."

It was quiet until Tetsu asked, "You got pictures?"

Miyuki grinned and his glasses flashed. "Wanna see?" For a second, nobody moved before they all piled around Miyuki to see the pictures.

"Senpai," Furuya said, gaining everyone attention after a few pictures. "Isn't the school they're going to an all-boys school?"

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that descended before they all slowly turned back to the camera where a picture of the brothers in girls' clothes was up before they all ran at top speed after the two.

/Back with Ryousuke and Haruichi/

"This is it," Ryousuke said, looking from the paper in Haruichi's hands back to the gate of the school. "Ready?" He asked, looking down at Haruichi. Said teen pressed closer to his older brother and nodded before the two entered the school.

Once the two stepping through the gates, all eyes were on them. Ryousuke put a hand on Haruichi's head when the younger teen started shaking and looked around. "Excuse me," He said, speaking in a slightly higher pitch, "But can you please tell us where we can find the baseball fields?"

All at once, every person around pointed in one direction. As scared and nervous as he was, Haruichi giggled at that, turning and burying his face in Ryousuke's shoulder as he did. Ryousuke smiled and thanked everyone, leading his giggling brother in the direction they'd pointed.

"See," Ryousuke whispered as they walked, "It's not as bad as you thought I'd be." Haruichi looked up at his brother and smiled a little bit. Ryousuke took a photo before Haruichi realized what he was doing.

Before Haruichi could yell at his brother for taking a picture of him, a new voice cut in and asked, "Is there something we can help you with?"

The two brothers looked up and found a brown haired teen, dressed in a baseball uniform standing in front of them. "We were just hoping we could watch your practice," Ryousuke said with a smile, "My little sister and I love baseball, but our school is all girls and doesn't have a baseball team."

When the teens gaze turned to Haruichi, he flushed and hid behind Ryousuke, peeking out to nod, confirming what his older brother had said. The teen blushed a bright red at the adorable pink haired girl before him and her older sister before swallowing, his mouth suddenly dry.

"W-Well," He stammered, "I guess…if you don't mind I mean…I…I could…show you around…maybe?" He phrased the question to Ryousuke but his eyes kept glancing back at Haruichi, something Ryousuke noticed but Haruichi didn't as he was too busy hiding.

Ryousuke smiled and nodded. "We'd be very grateful to you if you would." Ryousuke turned to Haruichi and said, "See, they're not that scary." He turned back to the teen and said, "Chi-Chan was terrified by the thought of coming here. She's not used to boys like I am." He winked at the teen in front of him, causing the blush to get darker.

"I…I can assure you that…that nobody will harm either of you." He jolted a bit and suddenly bowed. "I-I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sashimi Jiro. I'm a regular and captain on the baseball team here."

'_Perfect,'_ Ryousuke thought as he smiled at Jiro. "My name is Nishira Ryoka, and this is my little sister, Hana. It's nice to meet you Sashimi-san." Ryousuke pulled Haruichi in front of him and put his arms around the younger teen, keeping him there. "Come on Chi-Chan. I promise he won't bite."

Haruichi blushed and fiddled with the hem of the dress, fidgeting under Jiro's stare. "N-Nice to meet you," He said softly, glancing up at the teen before turning his gaze back to the ground.

"I-If…If you'd follow me," Jiro said, quickly turning away from the two and trying to casually use his glove to cover his privates, "I-I'll show you where," He cleared his throat a bit as he started walking, "I'll show you where the regulars practice."

He led them to the baseball diamond where nineteen other teens were practicing their fielding. Ryousuke held up the camera and snapped a few pictures before turning to Jiro. "Thank you for showing up the way," He said. "You should probably go take care of that," He glanced down at the glove and back up to Jiro's face that could rival a tomato.

Jiro didn't bother to say anything as he turned and walked as fast as he could to one of the buildings. Ryousuke chuckled as Jiro left and continued taking pictures. Haruichi stood close to Ryousuke and started recording the practice.

"I'm going to go get some from another angle," Ryousuke said softly. "You stay here and keep filming." Haruichi jerked his head up toward his brother, fear in his eyes. "You'll be fine," Ryousuke said before Haruichi could protest. He pointed to the other side of the baseball diamond. "I'll be right there. This way we can get pictures from every angle." _'And I can get pictures of you without you clinging to me.'_ He thought to himself.

He patted Haruichi's head, careful not to mess up his headband before he headed to the other side of the field. Haruichi fidgeted as he recorded, not liking being alone. He could _feel_ the stares from behind him, but every time he looked back, everyone was turned around. He frowned to himself, turning back to the practice.

Ryousuke chuckled as he watched his brother, taking pictures of the pout that Haruichi probably thought was a frown. He was taking advantage of having his little brother dressed like this, knowing he could sell some of the pictures for a lot of money and keep the others for blackmail and teasing. Not to mention his parents would very much enjoy seeing these pictures.

He hummed to himself as he remembered how his mother had been so disappointed when Haruichi, who was supposed to be born a girl, turned out to be a boy. They'd already bought a bunch of dresses and skirts for their baby girl, and instead of returning them, their mother had simply made Haruichi wear them. _'Dad told me that she denied Haruichi was a boy for the first five years of his life.'_

Ryousuke lifted the camera again and focused on Haruichi, but frowned when he found another baseball player next to his little brother. Before he could go over and help though, a voice behind him said, "I hope you're finding this enjoyable." He turned and found a teen with shaggy black hair standing behind him.

"May I help you?" He asked, forcing a smile back onto his face.

"My name is Muna Shige," The teen said with a bow. "Captain told me to come and make sure you were enjoying your time."

Ryousuke nodded. "I'm enjoying myself very much," He said while thinking, _'And getting all the information I need.'_

"I'm happy to hear that."

Ryousuke turned back toward his brother and asked, "Who is that with Chi-Chan? My sister isn't very comfortable around guys, so I'm afraid she may get scared."

"That is Yosano Hiru," Shige said. "I can assure you that he won't do anything to scare your sister. He's the gentlest person on the team, which is why captain asked him to check on her." Ryousuke frowned but figured Haruichi would be fine and he could keep an eye on him without interfering for the moment.

Haruichi nearly jumped when a voice from behind him asked, "Are you enjoying yourself?" He whirled around with one hand over his heart as he stared, wide eyed, at the large teen behind him. Said teen backed up, hands in the air. "I did not mean to scare you," He said. "Captain simply asked me to make sure you were enjoying yourself. My name is Yosano Hiru. It's nice to meet you Nishira-san."

"N-Nice to…to meet you," Haruichi said as he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat. He slowly turned back around, bringing the camera back up. Hiru stepped up beside him, making sure to keep his distance.

"Do you know how to play, Nishira-san?" Hiru asked after a few moments of silence.

Haruichi nodded and said softly, "On-Onee-can taught me."

Hiru nodded and said, "Well, shall I tell you about our team?" Haruichi jolted a bit and nodded stiffly, not trusting himself to speak. This was exactly what he and his brother had come for. "I'll start with our captain," He said, nodding to Jiro, who kept throwing glances at the two of them before flushing and looking away.

"Our captain is our short stop and fifth batter. I'm the center fielder and fourth batter. Shige, the one by your sister, is our pitcher and ninth batter. I guess you could say he's the ace of the team. The three of us went to middle school together. When we first came here, the baseball team didn't have a coach and couldn't make it past the second round of the prelims. We were devastated, since the school board wanted to shut down the club, but we begged them to give more time, and they said if we couldn't make it past the prelims then the club would be shut down.

"None of the other members were very good, but they worked hard. Jiro, Shige and I essentially pulled the team through the prelims, only to lose the first game in the actual tournament. The school board kept its promise and we were able to continue with the club. We trained harder than before, drilling the skills needed into the rest of the members. We still only made it past the prelims before losing, but this year, I have a feeling we can go all the way to Koshien.

"Our next opponent will be tough, but we'll give it all we have and make sure there are no regrets." Hiru went quiet before he flushed and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry," He said, "I must have bored you."

"N-No," Haruichi said, "It…It was a very inspiring story. I…I can tell you really care for this team." Haruichi shuffled his feet, knowing he was their next opponent, but he couldn't help himself when he said, "G-Good luck." He flushed when Hiru looked at him in shock. "I-I mean, you put s-so much into this team and…and it would be sad if…if you didn't…well…I hope you h-have fun and…and play your…play your best and…and-"

Haruichi was cut off from rambling when Hiru laughed. "Thank you," He said with a soft smile. "I was getting nervous and discouraged by the upcoming game, since it's my last year, but thanks to you I feel better. I think that even if we lose tomorrow, it won't be as bad so long as I play my best."

Haruichi smiled up at Hiru and turned back to practice…only to find everyone packing up. "It's over already?" He asked, surprised.

Hiru chuckled and Haruichi turned to him. "We end early on Fridays because many people have other arrangements, so we practice harder and longer Saturdays." Haruichi sighed and lowered the camera, a disappointed look on his face since he hadn't gotten as much in way of a video. Hiru frowned at the sad look and said, "You're welcome to come tomorrow, if you want." Haruichi's head snapped up and he stared at Hiru in shock. Hiru smiled. "I can even show you how to bat if you'd like."

"I…I don't know," Haruichi said, looking around for Ryousuke. He stiffened when he felt big hands on his shoulders. He turned and found Hiru right in front of him, staring down at him.

"Please," He whispered. "I'd…I'd like to see you again." He flushed and looked away, taking his hands away and running them through his hair. "I…I've never felt this way before." He seemed to debate about something before he looked resolved and turned back to Haruichi.

"I…I think I like you Nishira-Chan. Please go out with me!" Hiru bowed at the waist, his face completely red. Everyone in the vicinity stopped and gaped at the pair. Haruichi froze and dropped the camera. Ryousuke snapped a picture as he started laughing. Jiro's jaw was on the ground for a few seconds before he fell to his knees, tears coming out of his eyes. Shige chuckled from next to Ryousuke and took his own pictures.

Furuya, who had been hiding with the rest of the Seidou, stalked forward and grabbed one of Haruichi's hands, leading the shell shocked boy away.

"Nishira-Chan!" Hiru called, chasing after the two. He grabbed Haruichi's free hand and tugged him back toward him, stopping Furuya from dragging his first love away. "Please! I…I don't think I can live without you!" He tugged Haruichi closer toward him.

Furuya glared at Hiru and pulled Haruichi closer to him. "Let go," He said.

"You let go," Hiru said, pulling Haruichi back toward him. "Who are you? Nishira-Chan, do you know him?"

Haruichi was still too shocked and confused by what was going on to answer. "She's mine," Furuya said for him, barely remembering to say 'she'.

"Nishira-san said that she was nervous around men," Hiru said, gesturing to Ryousuke who had taken the camera and was now filming the whole thing while Shige had taken his camera and was getting pictures, "So there's no way she's yours. Besides," He added as he pulled Haruichi closer, "She's not an object."

Furuya jerked Haruichi out of Hiru's grip, tilted Haruichi's head up and kissed him before pulling him close and glaring at the shocked Hiru. Everyone around was even more shocked than before, and Jiro fainted.

For a while, nobody moved. Hiru shook with rage and punched Furuya, taking Haruichi away from him, twirling the frozen teen and dipping him, kissing him himself.

"Ah," Ryousuke said, lowering the camera, "She fainted." He gave the camera to Shige who continued filming. "I'm going to take her home. Will you give them," She pointed to the rest of the Seidou regulars who were frozen in shock by the events that had happened, "Before they leave?"

Shige nodded with a chuckle. "May I ask for a copy?" He asked. Ryousuke nodded and took out his phone.

"I'll send it to you later. What's your mail address?" Shige rattled off his number as he continued filming. Ryousuke entered it into his phone and put it away before going and taking Haruichi from Hiru right before Furuya tackled him. The normally passive pitcher had a look of fury on his face as he attacked the bigger and older teen. As the fight continued, Ryousuke carried Haruichi out the gates and back toward Seidou.

By the time everyone snapped out of it enough to stop the fight, the two were back at school. Hiru had a twisted ankle and Furuya had a sprained wrist.

Needless to say, neither were able to play in the next game.

Haruichi avoided Furuya and skipped the game to avoid Hiru.

Ryousuke stayed in contact with Shige and the two became close friends.

Jun got jealous and ranted to Ryousuke about how he was lying to Shige (who had been told early on that Ryousuke was a boy, not that Jun knew that) and how he should stop. Ryousuke kissed him to shut him up.

Jiro was heartbroken and took it out on Hiru through practice once Hiru was healed enough to practice.

The rest of the Seidou regulars agreed to never talk about it again.

/

**So Jiro, Shige and Hiru are mine. They WILL be showing up again later.**

**Sorry about the ending. I couldn't think of how to end it well, so it turned into this.**

**Let me know what you think!**


	8. Confusion

**So...This is me kind of making fun of a lot of pairings I see in this fandom...yeah...**

**Slight cussing near the end**

**/**

"So let me get this straight," Kuramochi said as he put his head in his hands, "Miyuki likes Sawamura, who likes Chris, who is trying to play matchmaker with Miyuki and Sawamura by distancing himself from Sawamura and communicating with him through Ryou-san's little brother who Furuya likes."

Tetsu nodded and added, "Because Chris is distancing himself, Sawamura thinks Chris hates him and Miyuki thinks Sawamura likes Ryou-san's little brother because of all the time they spend together and the way Sawamura acts around him. Furuya is jealous of this and also thinks Sawamura likes Ryou-san's younger brother.

"Sawamura thinks Miyuki also likes Chris because he respects Chris and stood up for him when Sawamura said something bad about Chris. Chris likes Tanba, who likes Takashima-sensei who likes coach who simply doesn't care for anyone at the moment."

Kuramochi groaned and said, "And Jun likes Ryou-san who's playing the over protective older brother and trying to monopolize all his little brothers' time which makes Sawamura upset and in turn upsets Miyuki who nearly got killed by one of Furuya's fastballs since Furuya is taking all his jealousy and anger and unloading it on Miyuki which makes Miyuki even more upset and gets Sawamura angry and Chris angry as well." He let his head hit the table with a groan.

"And because everyone's not playing well since they're angry, coach is mad, which upsets Takashima-sensei which in turn upsets and distracts Tanba who brings the whole teams moral down and makes Chris angry."

The two were silent for a while before Masuko spoke up for the first time. "What does Kominato-kun, the younger, think of all this?"

Tetsu looked at him and said, "As far as I can tell, he's clueless about it. He's simply happy that Ryou-san is paying more attention and spending more time with him."

Kuramochi snorted. "He idolizes Ryou-san. It's a little weird to watch them together."

"What do you mean?" Masuko asked.

Kuramochi raised his head and looked at his roommate. "Well, Ryou-san hovers over his brother and tries to kill anyone he thinks may 'corrupt' his little brother. His brother, on the other hand, follows Ryou-san around and does anything Ryou-san asks or tells him to do. They're way closer than any siblings I know. It's almost like-"Kuramochi cut himself off, his face turning a slightly green color. "No, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"You're thinking too much," Tetsu said, knowing what Kuramochi was thinking. "I already asked Ryou-san about it and said they were siblings, nothing more, nothing less."

"Thank God," Kuramochi sighed. "I don't think I could handle it if they-"He cut himself off again and shuddered, trying to erase what he'd just pictured.

"Back to the topic on hand," Tetsu said, "How do we fix this?"

"Couldn't we just tell Ryou-san to back off?" Kuramochi asked tiredly. "It seems to me that if he backed off, a majority of our problems would be solved."

"We could also ask Chris to stop using Kominato-kun to communicate with Sawamura-Chan," Masuko said.

"It's worth a shot," Tetsu said. "Hopefully the rest will smooth itself out as we go." The three looked at each other and nodded. "We'll begin tomorrow then." With that, the three left the room to get some sleep and prepare for the day ahead.

When the next day dawned, Tetsu, Kuramochi and Masuko met up before practice. "I'll distract coach," Tetsu said.

"I've got Ryou-san," Kuramochi said, sighing. He looked to Masuko and asked, "Will you talk to Chris?" Masuko nodded and the three went off.

Once Tetsu had gotten the coach away from practice, Masuko approached Chris before he could go to Haruichi. "Chris-san," Masuko said, "May I speak with you?" Chris stared at him for a moment before he nodded. "Sawamura-Chan thinks you hate him," Masuko said bluntly.

"Why?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Because you're using Kominato-kun to communicate with him."

Chris frowned and nodded. "Very well," He said, "I'll speak with him." Masuko nodded and watched as Chris went over to Sawamura.

Kuramochi smiled when he saw Chris heading to Sawamura before he took a deep breath and headed toward Ryousuke. "Ryou-san," He called out as he got close. Ryousuke turned to him with his ever present smile. "Can I talk to you?" Kuramochi asked.

"What do you need?" Ryousuke asked.

"We need you to lay off with your brother complex." No sooner had those words been uttered than Kuramochi was doubled over, clutching his stomach and trying to remember how to breathe.

"I do _**not**_ have a brother complex," He said lowly, turning around and stalking off.

Masuko winched as he watched Kuramochi go down before turning his eyes to Ryousuke who was talking with Haruichi, smiling and talking like normal. Masuko sighed and turned back to Chris, who was speaking with Sawamura. He smiled, since at least that seemed to be working out alright.

Well, it _was_…until Sawamura leaned up and kissed Chris.

When Tetsu and the coach came back, it was hell. Sawamura was trying to pry Miyuki off Chris while Chris was trying to ask Tanba for help who was staring at Takashima-san who was yelling at everyone to stop before running over to the coach and attempting to explain.

Furuya and Jun were fighting because Jun thought Furuya liked Ryousuke while Furuya thought Jun liked Haruichi. Ryousuke was glaring at anyone who came close and was shielding Haruichi behind him who wanted to go help Sawamura which made Ryousuke angry at Sawamura, Miyuki and Chris. Furuya saw Haruichi was looking at Sawamura and trying to help and abandon Jun to go and tackle Sawamura, leaving Miyuki to his attempts to strangle Chris. The rest of the team was staring, encouraging or ignoring all the fighting by the regulars.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The coach finally yelled, causing everyone to freeze. "ALL REGULARS COME WITH ME! NOW!" he led the regulars into the dining hall and said, "I don't care what you do, just work this out." He left them all locked in the room.

"Why did you try to kill Chris-senpai?" Sawamura asked after about an hour of silence had passed.

"Because you kissed him," Miyuki said, glaring daggers at Chris who was staring at Tanba who was moping in a corner.

"I don't understand," Sawamura said.

Before Miyuki could say anything, Jun roared, "You damn first year! Why the fuck did you hit me!" Furuya turned his head, pretending Jun didn't exist. "Don't fucking ignore me!" Jun screamed.

"You bastard!" Sawamura yelled, just now remembering Furuya had tackled him, "Why the hell did you tackle me?!" Gradually, everyone started yelling at each other except for Ryousuke and Haruichi, who were in the corner. Ryousuke had Haruichi behind him so he was out of sight, asking if he was alright or hurt anywhere from earlier or if he should kill someone because they were annoying him or if he needed water or food, ECT…

Haruichi sighed at everyone's antics, not liking how everyone was fighting. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on top, hoping everyone would calm down.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then twenty, thirty, fifty. When two hours had passed and everyone was STILL fighting, some even becoming physical with each other again, Haruichi decided enough was enough. He was tired, hungry and his head was pounding from all the screaming.

Very calmly, he stood up and walked across the room. He wasn't in any hurry as he walked and he avoided getting hit from any stray fists. By the time he'd made it across the room, everyone was staring at him curiously, wondering what he was going to do.

Haruichi ignored them all and uncapped one of the dry erase markers before he started writing everyone's names on the board. When he was finished he took a different color and drew arrows as he said, "Miyuki-senpai likes Eijun-kun. Eijun-kun likes Chris-senpai. Chris-senpai likes Tanba-senpai. Tanba-senpai likes Takashima-sensei. Takashima-sensei likes coach. Isashiki-senpai likes Onii-Chan. Onii-Chan likes Tetsuya-senpai." He capped the marker and put it away, going back to his seat. He ignored everyone and leaned against Ryousuke, muttering that he was tired before falling asleep.

For a while, nobody spoke, too embarrassed to look at each other. The silence was only broken when Tetsu said, "I was wrong." Everyone turned to him but he was staring at Haruichi. "He wasn't clueless at all."

/

**...yeah...**

**I tried to warn you at the beginning.**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought or any ideas you may have. Seriously, if I run out I want to have inspiration from ideas you all think about. Just be warned, this was my attempt at writing something not based mainly on Haruichi and Ryousuke, so if your ideas don't contain them as the main characters, this is what will happen. THEY WILL SHOW UP! Or at least be mentioned...repeatedly. ;P**


	9. Superheroes

**They're in middle school here**

**/**

"Are you ready?" Ryousuke whispered to his younger brother. Haruichi nodded and they both pulled their hoods up and checked over their gear one last time. When both were sure everything was in order, Ryousuke opened the door and the two slipped out into the night.

The two avoided the crowded streets and used back alleyways, sticking close to the walls and shadows to stay invisible. Gradually, the people lessened until Ryousuke and Haruichi were the only ones around. The buildings were more upscale here, each dark and quiet. The further they went, the more cameras were fixated to the front of the buildings and the tighter the security was.

Winding and curving roads all tangled up and intersected made it easy to get lost, but the two brothers knew exactly where they were going. They slipped past the cameras, remaining undetected and silent. They'd studied this area for weeks to know all the blind spots.

Finally, they came to their destination. A tall building, the front seemingly made entirely of glass. They could see the guards making their rounds, their flashlights bobbing up and down as they walked. With a short glance, the two made their way around to the back. Ryousuke took the keycard he'd swiped earlier that day and waited for Haruichi to cut the feed before he slid it through the scanner, quickly entering the pin that accompanied it.

The brothers shared a small grin as the door slid open before entering. Guards were avoided or quickly knocked out and hidden as they made their way to the security room.

"Can you get in?" Ryousuke asked as he stood watch at the door in case anyone tried to come in.

"Piece of cake," Haruichi said, fingers flying over the keyboard. Seconds later he grinned and said, "I'm in." Ryousuke looked over at him as Haruichi transferred a large sum of the company's money to one of their bank accounts, before completely erasing the trail so nobody would be able to find out who did it.

Once that was done, Haruichi grinned as he dug up records of the company's illegal transactions, copying them onto a disk that would later somehow find its way into the hands of the police. "Almost done?" Ryousuke asked, glancing at his brother before turning back to the hallway.

"Just let me erase the feed for the whole night and shut down all the cameras," Haruichi said, "Then we can go."

"They won't be suspicious?" Ryousuke asked, though he already knew the answer.

Haruichi giggled softly. "They'll think it was because of the power outage that's going to happen in a few minutes."

Ryousuke raised an eyebrow, smile on his lips. "Power outage?" He asked. Haruichi simply smiled innocently at him before finishing his job and standing up. He joined his older brother at the door and the two slipped back into the hallways, quickly making their way to the exit.

Only when the two were a few blocks away did Ryousuke turn to Haruichi and ask, "So when is this power outage supposed to happen?"

"Now," Haruichi said just as the whole area went dark. Ryousuke shook his head and the two lapsed back into silence and they continued their journey home.

Only when the two were safely back in their shared room did they take off their hoods. "Couldn't you have just done all that from here?" Ryousuke asked as they were changing into their pajamas. "Then it wouldn't be as much of a risk of being caught."

"I could have," Haruichi said, "But then there would have been a greater risk of getting it tracked back to my computer." He turned and smiled at Ryousuke. "And besides, you wouldn't have gotten to have so much fun if I'd just done if from here."

Ryousuke rolled his eyes and caught Haruichi in a playful headlock. The two wrestled around for a bit before Ryousuke pinned Haruichi to the ground. He smirked and Haruichi gulped before trying to escape.

"You can't escape me little brother," Ryousuke whispered, his face inches from Haruichi's. He smirked a little wider and Haruichi let out a shriek as one of Ryousuke's hands found its way to his stomach.

Ryousuke kept Haruichi pinned down as he mercilessly tickled his younger brother, eliciting shrieks of laughter to ring out. "S-Stop!" Haruichi cried, tears gathering in his eyes as he tried to squirm from his older brothers grasp.

Ryousuke tickled him until Haruichi was crying from laughing so hard and had hiccups. When he stopped, Haruichi gasped for breath and tried to glare at Ryousuke, but the hiccups ruined it, sending Ryousuke into a fit of laughter which in turn caused Haruichi to laugh again.

Just as the two were calming down, another hiccup from Haruichi started them back up again. When they were finally finished laughing, Haruichi had his head laying on Ryousuke's chest and both were panting.

The two stayed where they were even after their breathing returned to normal. Ryousuke's hand found its' way to Haruichi's hair and was running through the soft pink locks as he stared at the ceiling.

"Onii-Chan," Haruichi said as he was on the verge of sleep, "Are we bad people?"

"No," Ryousuke said, no hesitation in his voice. "Those companies ruin people's lives and take everything from people who have nothing. They deserve what they get."

"But we steal from them," Haruichi said with a yawn, "Isn't that like them?"

"No," Ryousuke said, picking Haruichi up and lying him on the bed, "We take from them and give it back to those they took if from. We're good people, helping those in need and taking down the bad people in the world. I guess we're kind of like superheroes." Haruichi smiled and yawned again. Ryousuke smiled down at his little brother and pulled the blankets up over them both as he lay down. "Get some sleep," He whispered as Haruichi curled up next to him, "We still have school tomorrow."

"Good night Onii-Chan," Haruichi whispered as he fell asleep.

Ryousuke chuckled and put an arm around his little brother. "Good night Haruichi," He said, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

/

**I don't know why, but I like the idea of Haruichi being a technological genius and him and Ryousuke going and taking down the 'evil' people who steal lots of money.**

**I also like the thought of the two being some sort of gang leaders or something...NEW IDEA! ;P**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought and give some of your own ideas!**


	10. Heat

**So...this was completely random...and it didn't turn out _anything_ like what I had planned...**

**/**

"Kominato-kun," Chris said, his voice soft as usual, "Would you mind getting us something to drink?" Chris looked up when Haruichi didn't answer. Normally, he'd duck his head and agree, asking what it was they wanted.

Chris raised an eyebrow when he found a sheet tucked under his mattress, hanging down and hiding Haruichi's bed from view. "Kominato-kun?" Chris asked as he stood up. He hoped the younger teen wasn't sick, though it _had_ been record high temperatures lately. I had been so hot the coach had to cancel practices, lest he risk the players getting heat stroke. Maybe it had gotten to the first year.

Chris lifted the sheet a bit to check on his underclassman, only to quickly let it fall back into place. "I'll get the drinks," He said to the other regulars that had gathered in his room as he walked to the door.

"You don't have to," Kuramochi said, making Chris stop. "Just send Sawamura of Furuya."

"Furuya's in the infirmary," Miyuki said from his place across the shogi board, "He passed out from the heat yesterday."

"Sawamura-Chan's there as well," Masuko said.

"Why the hell's that idiot there?" Kuramochi asked, pausing his game.

"He passed out from heat stroke when he tried to practice yesterday," Tetsu answered, glaring at the shogi board. Kuramochi rolled his eyes and resumed his game.

"Have your brother go Ryou-san," Jun said, looking up from his magazine. He paused when he didn't see Ryousuke where he normally was. "Ryou-san?"

Ryousuke popped his head out from behind the sheet that had been hung up in front of Haruichi's bed. "Let Miyuki get them," He said before disappearing back behind the sheet.

"But it's hot," Miyuki sighed dramatically, "I might die." He looked down at the shogi board and said, "It's your turn." Tetsu nodded but kept glaring at the board, making no move to pick up a piece. Miyuki sighed and flopped onto the ground.

"I'll get them," Chris said, hand on the doorknob. "Does anybody want anything different?"

"Will you also bring back some cold water?" Ryousuke asked, head appearing once more.

"What are you doing in there?" Jun asked, putting down his magazine and staring at the smiling third year.

"Reading," Ryousuke said, showing him his book.

Jun rolled his eyes and said, "Why are you behind a sheet?"

"It's colder like this," Ryousuke said before disappearing again.

"No fair!" Miyuki suddenly shouted, jumping up and pointing at the sheet. Everyone's eyes turned to the catcher in confusion. "You have a fan back there, don't you!" They heard Ryousuke chuckle from behind the sheet but no answer came. "Let me in there!" Miyuki pulled the sheet back, but pulled too hard, as the whole thing came down.

Ryousuke frowned when the sheet was torn down and glared at Miyuki, causing the second year to laugh nervously. A cold breeze flowed into the room, thanks to the fan that had been set up facing Haruichi's bed.

Ryousuke had been sitting with his back to the wall on the end furthest from the fan, book open on his lap. Haruichi was lying face down, feet toward his older brother and head near the fan. Miyuki crouched next to the bed and poked Haruichi while he asked, "Is he alright? He looks dead."

Ryousuke sighed and closed his book, setting is beside him. "He doesn't like the heat," He answered, "Which is why the sheet was up. It was keeping the cold air contained in this area." Haruichi didn't respond to the poking by Miyuki, causing the second year to frown.

"How can he breathe?" Miyuki asked. Haruichi's face was buried in a pillow and it didn't look like he was breathing at all. "Ryou-san, I don't think he's breathing?"

Ryousuke raised an eyebrow and scooted over until he was next to Haruichi. He placed his feet on Haruichi's side and pushed, causing his younger brother to fall off the bed and onto Miyuki. Most of the third years laughed at the surprised expression on the catchers' face.

It was in that moment Chris came back in with the drinks. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Miyuki on the floor, one hand holding himself up and the other around Haruichi who was lying limply on the second year. Haruichi's head was on Miyuki's shoulder, his arms hanging down and hands resting on the floor. One of Miyuki's legs was stretched out while the other was bent up and residing between Haruichi's legs which were lying on the ground.

Miyuki flushed and laughed awkwardly when he realized the position he was in. He glared at Ryousuke who laughed and asked, "Is he still breathing?"

Miyuki looked down at the first year atop him and flushed a deeper shade of red when he realized just _what_ Haruichi was wearing. Normally, a tank top and shorts were fine, but Haruichi's white tank top was covered in sweat and sticking to him, and the black shorts he had on were so short that Miyuki thought they shouldn't be classified as shorts anymore.

He was about to turn away in embarrassment when he realized something was missing. He quickly and gently laid the first year on his back and put a hand to Haruichi's chest and another under his nose. He suddenly felt cold when there was nothing.

"Oi!" Miyuki called, jerking his head up, "He's seriously not breathing!" The room went silent and everyone froze as they tried to process what exactly he had just said before they suddenly started panicking.

Ryousuke stared at everyone panicking and sighed. He jumped off the bed and picked up a water bottle that Chris had dropped and unscrewed the cap. He walked over to Haruichi and unceremoniously dumped the entire thing onto his little brother.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jun screamed, jerking his friend back by the shoulder. "We should be calling for an ambulance! Does anyone know CPR?!"

"Calm down," Ryousuke said, picking Haruichi up and placing him back on the bed. He picked up the fan and pointed it directly at Haruichi's face. For a few moments, nothing happened. Just when Jun was about to pull Ryousuke back again, Haruichi groaned and tilted his head toward the wall.

"It's hot~" He whined, causing Ryousuke to chuckle. Ryousuke set the fan back where it was and replaced the sheet, ignoring the rest of the regulars.

"What the fuck?!" Jun finally demanded.

Ryousuke turned and raised an eyebrow. "I said he didn't like the heat," He told them, causing all of their jaws to drop.

"Ryou-san," Chris said seriously, "I think this goes beyond not liking the heat. He wasn't _breathing_. Your brother could have died. I think you should take him to the hospital."

"Don't worry," Ryousuke said, carefully sitting on the edge of Haruichi's bed, "This happens every year when it gets hot."

"Your brother stops _breathing_ when it gets hot?!" Miyuki demanded.

"Not all the time," Ryousuke said, not the least bit worried, "But for the most part, yes."

"Ryou-san," Tetsu said, placing a hand on either one of Ryousuke's shoulders and staring him in the eye, "This is serious. People don't just stop breathing when it gets hot."

Ryousuke sighed and looked at all the others in the room. "He doesn't _actually_ stop breathing," He told them. "His heart rate simply slows down considerably and his breathing is very shallow. I don't know why he does it, and he doesn't realize he's doing it."

"I thought he was dead," Miyuki sighed, slumping to his knees.

"He could have been," Ryousuke said lightly, causing everyone's head to snap toward him. Ryousuke chuckled and said, "If we don't keep him cool, the doctors said it's possible he could actually stop breathing and die." He stared at Miyuki as he continued, "You pulling the sheet off caused the temperature near him to rise. You could have killed him."

Miyuki opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say so he simply settled for gaping at Ryousuke.

"Let me get this straight," Kuramochi said, breaking the silence, "If your brother gets too hot he'll just _stop breathing_?" Ryousuke nodded.

"Does coach know?" Tetsu asked, standing up.

"Of course," Ryousuke said, "It was one of the first things that the coach was warned about when he joined the team."

"One of the _first_?" Miyuki asked.

Ryousuke chuckled. "Don't worry," He said, "The rest aren't as bad as this. They were small things I felt the coach should know just in case."

"Like?" Tetsu asked, going and sitting in front of the shogi board again.

"You'll find out later," Ryousuke said, standing up. He disappeared behind the sheet once more, leaving the rest of the regulars to slowly go back to what they had been doing.

Behind the sheet, Ryousuke grinned at Haruichi who was pouting at him. "That was mean," Haruichi whispered, careful not to let the others hear him, "And did you _have_ to kick me off the bed? It hurt."

"Sorry," Ryousuke said, running his fingers through Haruichi's hair, "But at least now they'll leave us alone and won't try to take the fan."

"You just wanted to mess with them," Haruichi accused, closing his eyes and enjoying the cold air from the fan.

"I was getting bored," Ryousuke said, "And they're so fun to mess with."

"But now I'm going to have to pretend to do this every time it gets hot out."

"It's not that bad, is it? We used to do it all the time back home."

"Yeah, and I was taken to the hospital because someone told their parents who told mom. I had to get lots of tests done while you sat at home eating ice cream."

Ryousuke chuckled and patted Haruichi's head. "But now every time it gets hot mom and dad make sure your room is nice and cold and you get ice cream or a popsicle every day. I know you also used it as an excuse to skip school a few times as well."

Haruichi flushed and buried his head in the pillow once more. Ryousuke chuckled again and picked up his discarded book. The two enjoyed the rest of the day in peace and coldness.

The next day, Sawamura and Furuya were released. They were quickly sent back when they tried to take down the sheet and get to Haruichi's fan, only to be tackled by nearly all the other regulars. Haruichi sighed at the commotion while Ryousuke laughed, but neither bothered to move and help.

/

**Yeah...Anyway, let me know what you think or any ideas you have for me!**


	11. Ears

**So...yeah...**

**/**

"They look good on you!" Miyuki said as he laughed. Eijun frowned and reached up to take off the silly headband but was stopped by Miyuki. "Don't take them off," He said, wiping the tears from his eyes, "They suit you." Something about his smile made Eijun shiver.

"Why did you even have these?" Eijun asked, fingering the cat ears that were attached to the headband Miyuki had forced on his head.

"I found them when I was cleaning earlier," The second year said, snapping of picture of Eijun when he wasn't looking. "I also found another set." He held up a pink headband with cat ears that had a bow in front of each in one hand and a pink tail in his other. "These come with a tail. Who should I put them on?" he hummed in thought as each of the regulars filtered through his mind.

"Where did you find those?" Miyuki and Eijun turned and found Ryousuke staring at the pink cat ears. "I thought I lost them."

Both catcher and pitcher blinked in surprise. "These are yours Ryou-san?" Miyuki asked.

Ryousuke chuckled and nodded. "I was going to have Haruichi wear them, but I lost them before I could get the chance." Miyuki tried to picture the younger Kominato in the cat ears and grinned at the picture that came to mind.

"We can help," Miyuki said, putting an arm around Eijun.

Ryousuke smiled and said, "It won't be easy. He's too embarrassed to put them on."

"We'll just have to surprise him then," Miyuki said. "Either that or we'll hold him down while you put them on." Eijun shivered at the smiles the two gave each other and silently said he was sorry to Haruichi, who suddenly felt a shiver go down his spine, though he didn't know why.

"When shall we do it?" Miyuki mused, trying to think of a good time.

"We'll do it in the morning," Ryousuke said, "Before he wakes up."

"Won't he just take them off?" Eijun asked, finally taking part in the discussion.

Ryousuke chuckled and said, "Haruichi's a little slow in the mornings. It'll take him a while before he realizes they're on, and by then we should have more than enough pictures."

Miyuki chuckled and Eijun shivered at the sound. "What time?"

"He normally wakes up around six, so let's meet up at five forty. That should give us plenty of time." Miyuki nodded and handed the pink ears and tail to Ryousuke who placed them into his bag before going on his way.

The next morning, Miyuki and Ryousuke met up and went to get Eijun. Of course, Kuramochi and Masuko tagged along once they heard what was happening, and they all made their way to Haruichi's room.

Chris raised an eyebrow when they all walked in, but decided he didn't want any part of whatever they were planning and left to get ready. Ryousuke took the ears and tail from his bag and handed Miyuki a camera.

Haruichi was buried under his covers, so Ryousuke had to gently untangle him, careful not to wake him up. When Haruichi was free, Ryousuke grabbed the tail and slid his hands under the covers before clipping it onto the back of his younger brothers' shorts.

Haruichi muttered something in his sleep and turned over to face his older brother, curling into a ball. Ryousuke sighed and slowly lifted Haruichi's head, turning it toward the ceiling and sliding the headband onto his head, sweeping his bangs back in the process.

"I've never seen Harucchi's face before," Eijun muttered. Ryousuke waited until Miyuki had gotten a picture before he set Haruichi's head back down and picked his younger brother up, setting him onto his lap.

"Won't he-"Kuramochi cut himself off and Miyuki started taking pictures like crazy when Haruichi snuggled closer to his older brother, unconsciously rubbing his head like a cat on Ryousuke's chest.

Ryousuke smiled a bit wider and very lightly ran a finger across Haruichi's nose, causing it to scrunch up before he turned and buried his face into Ryousuke's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his older brother in the process.

Ryousuke chuckled and shook Haruichi's shoulder, causing his younger brother to let out a wine and tighten his grip. "Come on Haruichi," Ryousuke whispered, bouncing the leg Haruichi was sitting on a bit, "Time to get up." He put a finger to Haruichi's cheek and slowly pressed down, rubbing it in circles. Haruichi wined again and brought a hand up to swat the offending finger. Ryousuke simply kept pressing until Haruichi looked up at him through half lidded eyes.

Haruichi pulled back from his older brother slightly and yawned, one hand coming up to rub the corner of his eye and the other dropping to his lap. Miyuki leaned in toward Ryousuke and took multiple pictures, causing Haruichi to sleepily blink at him, mind not processing what was going on.

Ryousuke looked around and motioned Eijun to bring him the cup of water that was sitting on one of the desks in the room. When Eijun brought it near, he dipped a few fingers in and flicked some water at Haruichi.

Miyuki gave up on taking more pictures and switched the camera to video as Haruichi made a small noise of protest and brought one hand up in a lightly made fist near one of the cat ears which made him look like a cat even more. Ryousuke let Haruichi fall back onto the bed and quickly reached inside his bag for the feather he'd brought.

Kuramochi almost doubled over in laughter when Haruichi kept trying to bat the feather away from his face, but Masuko held a hand over his roommates' mouth so he wouldn't ruin it. It was only when tears started forming in Haruichi's eyes that Ryousuke stopped. He put the feather down and picked Haruichi back up, running a hand up and down his arm in an attempt to calm him down. He motioned the others to leave, as they wouldn't be getting anything else at that time while Haruichi curled into him.

Ryousuke gently took off the ears and tail and set them near his bag while he gently rocked back and forth, attempting to get Haruichi back to sleep. It didn't take long, as Haruichi was already half asleep. Ryousuke pulled the covers back and laid Haruichi back down, pulling the covers back up and softly ruffling his younger brothers' hair before he gathered his things and quietly left the room.

"Not a word about this," Ryousuke said to the others who were waiting outside the room for him. "I don't want this to get back to Haruichi."

"We won't say anything," Masuko promised.

"Why not?" Kuramochi asked, "Everyone'll love this!"

"Idiot!" Miyuki said, smack the back of Kuramochi's head, "If he finds out about this he'll probably quit the team!"

"If we're lucky," Ryousuke said. "No, he'll be so embarrassed and upset that he'll probably transfer to another school and never speak to me again. I don't want to hurt him like that."

"I don't want to hurt Harucchi," Eijun said, "He's my friend."

Kuramochi sighed but nodded. "Not a word," He said. Miyuki handed Ryousuke the camera and was about to leave when the door to Haruichi's room opened.

Everyone buy Ryousuke froze up as Haruichi walked out, only to run straight into his older brother. Ryousuke chuckled when Haruichi brought his hands up and started feeling in front of him, trying to determine what he had run into.

Ryousuke put a hand on his little brothers head and turned it in the direction of the bathrooms. "That way," He said, letting go and watching as Haruichi slowly turned in that direction and started walking. He almost made it to the corner when he ran into Chris, who was just coming back. Once again, Haruichi reached up and tried to use his hand to determine what he had run into.

Ryousuke took pity on Haruichi after a few moments and walked over. "Come here," He said, turning his younger brother to face him and lifting him up. Haruichi instantly put his arms and legs around his older brother, lying his head on Ryousuke's shoulder. "If you're just going to fall asleep, you should have stayed in bed," Ryousuke said softly, turning and heading back to his own room.

He bid farewell to everyone else and carried Haruichi to his room, knowing his little brother wouldn't let go until he woke up. "It's a good thing we don't have practice today," Ryousuke said as he laid down on his bed with Haruichi, who curled up closer to him.

Ryousuke sighed but smiled as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to sleep for a little longer.

/

**Let me know what you think!**


	12. Batting

**So...I don't like this one. I just don't think it turned out very well. Also, I don't know anything about training and I know that this would never happen, but this is what my imagination demanded to be written at about two am in the morning so...**

**Anyway, Haruichi is not on the team in this, but he still attends Seidou.**

**/**

"He's hopeless," Miyuki sighed as he watched Eijun attempt to bat. "The only way he'll ever hit a ball is by bunting."

"Even coach is giving up on helping him," Kuramochi said, shaking his head sadly. "I don't think there's anyone out there who can help him."

Ryousuke hummed to himself and said, "There may be one person who can help." All the regulars blinked and turned to the pink haired third year. "If he can't help him, then I doubt anyone else would be able to."

"Who?" Jun asked. Ryousuke simply smiled and walked away, leaving the regulars confused.

"Do you really believe he can help?" Takashima-san asked when Ryousuke brought up the idea.

"If he can't, nobody else can," Ryousuke told her.

Takashima-san looked to the coach who nodded and said, "One month. That's all I'll allow." Ryousuke nodded and bowed to them both before leaving. He made his way through the school and came to a stop outside one of the regular dorm rooms.

"Haruichi," He called, knocking on the door.

"It's open!" Haruichi called from inside the room. Ryousuke opened the door and walked over to his younger brother who was sitting at his desk doing homework.

"I need a favor," Ryousuke said, wrapping his arms around Haruichi's shoulders and resting his chin atop his brothers' head.

"What's that?" Haruichi asked, not looking up from his work.

"There's someone on my team whose batting skills are nearly nonexistent," Ryousuke explained. "The only thing he can do is bunt, and everyone has all but given up teaching him. I was hoping you could try and help him."

Haruichi hummed in thought, putting down his pencil and leaning back in his chair. "I don't know," He mused, "I'm pretty busy…"

Ryousuke leaned down and whispered, "I'll buy you the biggest tub of triple chocolate peanut butter fudge ice cream I can find." He felt Haruichi tense up and watched his little brother lick his lips just thinking of the sweet treat. "I'll also buy you that strawberry tart you like from that little bakery down near our house next time we go home."

"With extra whipped cream?" Haruichi asked quietly.

"With extra whipped cream," Ryousuke agreed.

Haruichi turned to him, eyes shining, and asked, "When do I start?" Ryousuke laughed at Haruichi's sweet tooth and ruffled his hair, causing Haruichi to pout and fix the headband that was holding back his bangs.

"You'll start Monday," Ryousuke said, "And it'll last a month. Once the month is over, I'll get you your ice cream, alright?" Haruichi nodded, smiling at his older brother. "So what were you working on when I came in?"

Haruichi turned back to his desk as Ryousuke leaned up against it. He began explaining his homework to his brother and asked Ryousuke for help on parts he didn't understand.

When Monday rolled around, Eijun was told to leave practice early and head to meet up with Haruichi. They were going to be practicing behind the old equipment shed so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Sawamura-kun," Haruichi called out when he saw the teen walking towards him. Eijun smiled at the short, pink haired teen in front of him.

"You're Kominato-senpai's little brother, right?" He asked, seeing the similarities between the two.

Haruichi nodded. "Onii-chan asked me to teach you how to bat properly." He gestured to the bat in Eijun's hand and said, "Go ahead and show me your batting stance." Eijun complied and got into his batting stance. Haruichi frowned. "Your posture is horrible," He said bluntly, "And your grip is all wrong. The main problem I see though, is that bat is not right for you."

"Eh?" Eijun asked, surprised. "What do you mean not right for me?"

"I mean it's too heavy for you to swing properly and not long enough for your height. Come with me, we'll go find you a different bat before we start correcting everything else." Eijun blinked but followed the shorter teen out of school and down the street. They took many turns and passed so many people and buildings that Eijun didn't know where he was anymore.

He was so overwhelmed that he nearly ran into Haruichi when he stopped. "Where are we?" Eijun asked as they entered the store. Sports equipment lined every wall of the medium sized store.

"A sports shop," Haruichi said, stating the obvious. He quickly led Eijun over to the baseball section and to the bats. He ran his hands over the tops of many bats before finally choosing one and handing it to Eijun. "Get in your stance again," He said, watching with sharp eyes to see if this bat would work. "Slowly swing it." Eijun complied, though he had no idea if he should be feeling anything different. Haruichi made him swing a few more times before he nodded and said, "That one will be fine. Let's pay for it and then we can get started."

Eijun simply followed Haruichi, trusting that he knew what he was doing. To Eijun, it felt like only moments later that they were back behind the old equipment shed again. "Get in your stance and take a few swings," Haruichi instructed and Eijun complied though he didn't feel any difference between this bat and his old one.

"We'll start with your grip," Haruichi said once he was satisfied. He took Eijun's hands in his and moved them closer together. "Your hands are too far apart. Relax your grip a bit, you're not trying to strangle the bat." Haruichi nodded when he deemed it good. "Now to I want you to get your hands used to this position. For the next week, just hold the bat like this. Don't swing, simply hold the bat like this. Any time you're not doing something else, just hold the bat like this."

He took some red grip tape he'd gotten from the tennis section and wrapped two strands around the handle of Eijun's bat. "Your middle fingers should be on this tape," He said at Eijun's confused look. "This is so you don't forget where to put your hands. If you do this every day for a week whenever you have time, your hands should naturally go back to this position. Meet me back here in a week."

"W-Wait!" Eijun called as Haruichi turned to leave. "T-that's it? I'm just supposed to hold the bat? For a week?" Haruichi nodded and continued on his way.

"Don't swing the bat even once," Haruichi called back as he left. Eijun frowned and grumbled but he figured that Haruichi knew more than he did, like Chris knew more when he'd made those training menus.

So, for the next week, whenever he wasn't practicing, Eijun held the bat. The other regulars teased him about it, but he ignored them as best he could.

When the next week came, Eijun met Haruichi behind the old equipment shed again.

"Show me your stance," Haruichi said, nodding in approval when he saw that Eijun was now able to correctly grip the bat without thinking about it.

"So what now?" Eijun asked. "Are we going to hit some balls?"

He winched when Haruichi smacked him upside the head. "Your grip may be good, but your stance is horrible. You hunch over so much I'm surprised nobody's hit you yet. I want you to wear this every day outside practice." He handed Eijun a strange looking vest.

"What is this?" Eijun asked, holding it up. Haruichi helped him put it on and Eijun frowned. "I can't move."

"You can't bend," Haruichi corrected. "Now get into your batting stance again." Eijun did as told and frowned at how uncomfortable the position was. "Good. Every day for the next week, hold this stance with the vest on and with your bat." He smiled at Eijun and walked away, calling over his shoulder, "Don't swing!"

Eijun frowned. He didn't see the point of all this. Sure, he understood that it was supposed to help his stance, but surely he didn't need to do it for a whole _week_. He wasn't even allowed to swing! What was batting practice without batting!

With a sigh, Eijun continued to hold the stance, figuring that he'd get to bat next week.

"Do I get to bat today?" Eijun asked when he met Haruichi behind the old equipment shed the following week.

"No," Haruichi said simply, tossing something at Eijun. Eijun held up the two spikes and gulped, turning fearfully toward Haruichi. With a roll of his eyes, Haruichi helped Eijun put them on his thighs before saying, "Batting stance."

Eijun got into his stance, but stood back up when the spikes started digging into his leg. "What the hell?!" He asked, rubbing his sore legs.

"You bend your knees too much," Haruichi said. "These should break you of that habit. Bend your knees so the spikes are just above your legs." He watched at Eijun did as he was told, wavering a bit as he tried to hold the position. "Just like that," Haruichi said, "Add that to the vest and continue for the next week."

Eijun threw down his bat and fisted part of Haruichi's collar, dragging him close. "When am I going to bat?! What kind of batting practice is this?! Do you even know what you're doing?!"

Haruichi stared at him for a moment before he calmly removed Eijun's hand and straightened his shirt. "If you don't like the way I'm doing things then feel free to stop coming back. You only have two weeks left, and during that time I'm not going to let you swing the bat once. If you can't handle that, then don't come back next week." He turned and started walking away, but called back, "If you continue to follow what I say, I swear you'll be able to hit a homerun."

Eijun's eyes went wide as he stared at where Haruichi had disappeared to. He picked up his bat and got back into the stance, flinching when the spikes hit his legs again and correcting himself.

"Are you sure this is practice?" Miyuki asked as he leaned against the fence and watched Eijun. "It looks more like a form of torture to me." Eijun ignored him, Haruichi's words ringing in his ears.

"Ryou-san," Jun said, watching Eijun from a distance with the other regulars sans Miyuki, "Are you sure your brother knows what he's doing?"

"I believe in Haruichi," Ryousuke said.

The following week, Eijun bowed to Haruichi before the pink haired teen could say anything. "I'm sorry about last week," He said. "I should never have done that."

Haruichi raised an eyebrow but simply said, "Batting stance." Eijun smiled and happily complied. Haruichi smiled and nodded, happy with the progress. "Twist your hips," He said. Eijun frowned in confusion. Haruichi stood in front of him and took a batting stance of his own even though he didn't have a bat. "Watch me," He said and slowly twisted his hips toward the front, held it for a few seconds and returned to the starting position.

"Twist them slowly," Haruichi said as he stood up and turned to Eijun. He watched closely as the taller teen twisted his hips and said, "Stop. Hold it right there for a count of two seconds and return to your batting stance." He made Eijun continue that for the next half hour before he was satisfied.

"Continue with that for the last week. Meet me back here at the end of the week." Eijun nodded and continued on as Haruichi walked away. He was laughed at openly by Miyuki and Kuramochi as he practiced the rest of the week, but he grit his teeth and ignored them, telling himself that he'd trust Haruichi and do as told.

At the end of the week, he met Haruichi behind the old equipment shed for the last time. Haruichi took back the spikes and the vest before he said, "Batting stance." He smiled brightly when he saw the perfect stance Eijun displayed.

"Now swing." Eijun whipped his head toward Haruichi who nodded. He smiled brightly and got back into his stance before he swung.

Eijun was stunned. It felt weird, swinging the bat. It seemed easier than it had been before, and the bat seemed lighter to him, swinging faster and smoother than ever. He held the bat out in front of him and stared at it in awe.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Haruichi asked, snapping him out of his trance.

"Wha…" Eijun started, unable to word his question right.

Haruichi chuckled and said, "Your stance is perfect now, so you're losing less energy by not bending your knees and you're able to swing easier because you're not hunched over the plate. You're getting more power now that your grip is corrected and having the right bat pulls it all together."

Eijun simply gaped at him for a while before he dropped the bat and scooped Haruichi up into a hug. He flushed red when he realized when he was doing and bowed, apologizing. Haruichi simply smiled and said, "Go show them the new Sawamura."

Eijun smiled brightly before he flushed and looked at the ground, shifting from one foot to another. "W-Will…Will you come to practice tomorrow?" He asked. "I…I'd feel better if…if you were there."

Haruichi smiled softly. "Sure," He said, causing Eijun to smile again, "I have to collect my reward for teaching you anyway." Eijun looked puzzled and Haruichi laughed as he turned and left.

The next day, everyone gathered round to watch and see if Eijun had improved at all. Haruichi was standing next to his older brother and the coach. The coach nodded to Takashima-san who turned on the ball machine.

Eijun got into his stance and watched the ball come closer. He felt his hips turn and his arms swing down. He smiled when he saw the bat make contact with the ball and everyone watched with wide eyes as the ball flew.

Silence reigned for a while before Eijun started jumping up and down while cheering. "I did it! I did it!"

Ryousuke put a hand on Haruichi's head and smiled at him. "You really did it," He said. Haruichi smiled up at his older brother. "Since you're here, why don't you go ahead and hit a few?"

Haruichi raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Why do I feel like that was the whole reason you asked me to teach him?"

Ryousuke simply smiled and dragged Haruichi over to the bench. He gave his little brother a helmet before saying, "I kept your bat in good condition." He handed Haruichi a long wooden bat that had recently been polished. Haruichi smiled as he ran his hand over it. Ryousuke handed him a pair of batting gloves and dragged him over to home plate. "Tanba!" He called out, gaining everyone's attention, "Will you pitch a few to Haruichi?"

Tanba nodded and stepped up to the plate while the rest of the regulars took their positions in the outfield. Haruichi sighed and swung a few times before he stepped into the batters' box. He easily settled into his stance and waited for the pitch.

Ryousuke smiled as he watched the pitch. Haruichi's eyes sharpened as he let the first one go by, analyzing it and readjusting his stance as he waited for the next pitch. When the next one came, Haruichi swung and Ryousuke smiled as he saw it fly over the outfielders' heads for a homerun.

At the end of practice, Haruichi glared at Ryousuke and said, "You owe me another strawberry tart."

Ryousuke laughed.

/

**Yeah...this was originally just to give Haruichi a sweet tooth but...it somehow turned into this...I'll probably write a different one that deals with Haruichi having a sweet tooth later so...**

**The next chapter will be up tomorrow. It's really, REALLY short, and I don't know where it came from, but I actually kind of like it...kind of...**

**And finals are starting for my school soon, so I won't be able to post everyday like I have been. I'll try to aim for twice a week or so, but the ideas are running low *hint hint* and I don't know when I'll have time to write. So chapters will be put up randomly as I write them.**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought.**

**~Akirafanatic**


	13. Be There

**So...I wrote this in about five minutes...no clue where it came from but...here you go.**

**No set ages I guess...**

**/**

Haruichi laid on his back in the soft grass, his arms and legs splayed out around him. He didn't move as his older brother quietly took a seat next to him.

Neither spoke for a few minutes, Haruichi staring at the sky and Ryousuke staring at the city before him.

"Are you that desperate to leave me?" Ryousuke asked, breaking the silence. His voice cracked near the end, giving away how upset he was though his face remained carefully blank.

Haruichi didn't say anything for the longest time. Ryousuke pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around then, lying his head on top and staring at his little brother.

"I don't want to die," Haruichi finally said, causing Ryousuke to frown.

"Your actions don't match that statement," He said bitterly. "Or don't you realize just how many times you've been in the hospital for attempted suicide."

Haruichi didn't say anything, staring up at the clouds. "I don't want to lose you," Ryousuke said softly, reaching out and running his hands through Haruichi's hair. "You're all I have left."

"I don't want to die," Haruichi repeated, "But I don't want to live either."

Ryousuke's hand froze for a moment before he continued petting Haruichi's head with slightly shaking hands. That was the most Haruichi had ever said about his attempts to take his own life. For the past seven years, everyone had been trying to get him to talk about why he was so eager to die, only to be met with silence and blank stares.

"I don't understand," Ryousuke told his little brother.

Haruichi finally turned and looked at his older brother, a soft smile on his face. "You don't have to," He said softly, reaching up and putting a hand on Ryousuke's. He intertwined their fingers and let their hands fall into the grass. "You don't have to," He repeated.

The two sat like that in silence as the sun made its way across the sky and dipped low, covering the sky in warm colors before it conceded to the moon and stars.

Ryousuke looked over at Haruichi who had such a peaceful expression on, happier than he'd seen his little brother in years, and smiled, turning back to the sky. Haruichi was right; he didn't have to understand. He just had to be there.

So long as they were together, they'd get through it; no matter where life wound up taking them.

**/**

**...Yep...**


	14. Study

**Based off a picture I saw on tumblr**

**/**

"Harucchi!" Eijun yelled as he nearly slammed the door to Haruichi's classroom once the day was over. Everyone inside the room looked at him for a few seconds before they continued gathering their things, already used to this daily occurrence.

"Hello Eijun-kun," Haruichi greeted, finishing putting his things into his bag that was hanging on the side of his desk. He was about to stand up when Eijun slammed his workbook onto Haruichi's desk and turned the chair to the desk in front of his around, slumping into it. "Eijun-kun?" Haruichi asked.

"Harucchi!" Eijun wailed, "Help me!"

"With?" Haruichi asked, looking at the math workbook that was now in front of him.

"Sensei said if I don't finish this and turn it in by tomorrow then I'll fail!" Eijun took Haruichi's hands in his own and gave his best puppy dog eyes. "Please help me!" Haruichi gently took his hands from Eijun and picked up the workbook and flipped through it.

His eyes widened when he saw that the book was blank. "Eijun-kun!" He exclaimed, "You haven't even started! You've had all semester to work on this!"

Eijun looked ashamed and muttered, "I was busy with baseball."

Haruichi sighed and said, "So was I, but I still left time to do my work. If you're not able to balance school and club, you'll be forced to resign from baseball." Eijun looked like someone had just told him his parents had died.

"Y-You have to help me!" Eijun wailed. "I-I can't resign from baseball! It's my life!"

Haruichi frowned in thought and said, "You start working on it. I'll talk to your teacher and see about extending the deadline." He was about to stand up when he noticed Furuya standing next to them. "Yes?" He asked. He spotted the same math workbook in Furuya's hands and twitched. "Is that…" Furuya held it out and Haruichi sighed when he found it empty.

With a sigh, he stood up and gave Furuya back his workbook. He pointed to the seat next to Eijun and said, "Sit and work on it. I'll go and see about the deadline." He gave the two a hard stare and said, "I want at least ten of the problems done by the time I get back."

Eijun nodded and said, "Thank you Harucchi!" While Furuya simply nodded. Haruichi shook his head and left the room, going to the teachers offices. He knocked on the door and entered, looking around until he saw both his and Furuya's teacher sitting at his desk. He smiled when he noticed Eijun's teacher nearby.

He quickly walked over and bowed to the two. "Akiyama-sensei, Miyoshi-sensei," He called to the two, getting their attention, "May I please speak with you?"

"Kominato-kun," Akiyama-sensei acknowledged him, "What can I do for you?"

"It's about Eijun-kun and Furuya-kun," He said, instantly getting both teachers to twitch in annoyance. Haruichi had to hide a smile at the reactions. "I was wondering if you could possibly postpone when the due date for their math workbooks are due."

"We can't make acceptations," Miyoshi-sensei said, "It wouldn't be fair to the other students."

"I understand," Haruichi said, "But the two of them have been stressed from the amount of practice we've been having and haven't found time to sit down and work on their workbooks."

"You don't seem to have a problem with it," Akiyama-sensei pointed out.

"Unlike Eijun-kun and Furuya-kun," Haruichi started, "I don't play in every game. I'm not as tired so have time to work on mine. I also don't have as much practice as they do, being two of our regular pitchers. I don't believe either of you would be happy to have them turn in a workbook with random answers because they didn't have time to actually work on them."

"Neither of the two pay attention in class," Miyoshi-sensei said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "How do we know that by giving them extra time they'll even understand what they're doing?"

"I've offered to help them both," Haruichi said, "I know that they aren't the best students, but Eijun-kun is truly distressed about the possibility of failing the class, so I believe he'll work hard to try and understand." He bowed at the waist and asked, "Please?"

Akiyama-sensei and Miyoshi-sensei looked at each other and sighed. "They can have until the end of the week," Akiyama-sensei said, causing Haruichi to smile.

"You may help them," Miyoshi-sensei said, gaining the teens attention, "But I don't want you to do the work for them. They will also have to take a test after they turn it in so Akiyama-sensei and I can see if they truly understood or if they simply put down the right answers."

Haruichi bowed once more and thanked the two before he left. He headed back to the room and both Eijun's and Furuya's heads popped up and turned to Haruichi. The pink haired teen couldn't help but smile at Eijun's fearful yet hopeful face.

"They'll give you both until the end of the week," Haruichi said as he made his way back to his desk. He waited until Eijun was done cheering before he added, "However, you'll have to take a small test when you turn it in so you can prove you actually understand and didn't just have someone else give you the answers." Eijun instantly deflated.

Haruichi chuckled and said, "I'll help you both with what you don't understand." Eijun smiled at him. "Now, how many problems did you finish while I was gone?"

Eijun suddenly looked away. "W-Well…"He stuttered. He handed his book over to Haruichi who stared at it for a while before looking back at the fidgeting Eijun.

"It's blank," Haruichi said in a neutral voice. Eijun nodded. "You didn't finish anything while I was gone." Eijun nodded again, starting to get nervous at the way Haruichi was acting. "In the twenty minutes I was gone, you didn't manage to finish one problem in the book." Eijun nodded again and Haruichi simply stared at him for a while before he asked, "Why?"

"I didn't understand," Eijun said, scratching his cheek. Haruichi felt like smacking his head as he realized just how much work he'd have to put in to teach the pitcher. Instead, he put the book back on the desk and turned to Furuya who was still bent over his workbook. He was about to praise him for his hard work when he realized that instead of working, the other pitcher had fallen asleep, his book just as blank as Eijun's.

Haruichi quietly took Furuya's workbook and rolled it up before he smacked the black haired pitcher on the head, causing his head to smack the table with a loud thud. Furuya rubbed his head as he looked up, only to freeze at the _look_ Haruichi was giving him. "No sleeping," He said, giving the pitcher back his workbook. "You two only have a week to finish a semesters worth of work, and I'm going to make sure you understand it if it's the last thing I do."

Both Furuya and Eijun gulped and shivered. Haruichi pointed to the front of the room and said, "I want you both to sit up front. If you have a question about something I'll explain it using the board." The pitchers nodded and quickly made their way up front, scared of what the smaller teen might do to them if they disobeyed.

"One more thing," Haruichi said after the two were seated, "Until you finish this workbook and understand what it is you're learning, you will be banned from baseball practice." Eijun gaped at Haruichi but slammed his mouth shut when Haruichi turned a cold stare on him. "Do you have any problems with that?" The two quickly shook their heads.

Eijun raised a shaky hand after a few seconds and said, "H-Harucchi…C-Can you explain how to do the first problem?"

Haruichi sighed and glanced at the problem before he wrote it up on the board. "This is a very simply problem," He said, "Do either of you have a guess as to how you solve it?" He received clueless looks. "Alright, here's an example." He wrote a simple example up on the board.

3x + 4 = 0

"You're solving for x, so you want to get it alone," Haruichi explained. "To do that, you're going to start by subtracting four from both sides to keep the equation balanced." He wrote as he was talking, showing them the steps needed. "Any idea what you do next to get x alone?"

"Subtract three?" Eijun asked, tiling his head to the side a bit.

"Almost," Haruichi said, "But instead of subtracting, you're going to divide." When he got blank stares he sighed and said, "Three and x are being multiplied here, and the opposite of multiplication is division, so you're going to divide by three on both sides. That will give you an answer of negative three fourths." He showed them the steps on the board. "Does that make sense to you both?" His 'students' nodded. "Alright, then what do you think the first step if this problem is?" He pointed to the first problem of their workbooks that he'd put up on the board.

Eijun raised his hand and Haruichi nodded for him to continue. "You add five!" Haruichi smiled and nodded, patting Eijun on the head like he was a child and praising him. Eijun beamed and wrote the first step down in his book. Furuya glared at Eijun as he also wrote the first step down.

/

"Where are Kominato, Sawamura and Furuya?" Coach Kataoka asked as the regulars gathered. He was met with silence, as nobody knew where they were.

One member of the second string, a classmate of Eijun's, overheard and said, "Sawamura and Furuya are working on the math workbooks they failed to complete that are due tomorrow. Kominato is helping them."

The coach nodded to the second stringer and thanked him before turning back to the regulars. "Tanba, Kawakami," He called to the two pitchers who were currently present, "Get in the bullpen with Miyuki and Miyauchi. The rest of you, get on the field."

"Hai!" They yelled, jogging off to their positions.

/

Only when the sun had begun to set and Eijun and Furuya were practically dead in their seats did Haruichi decide to call it a day. "We'll continue tomorrow," He said, causing the two to groan. "You got a lot done, so hopefully you'll finish before the end of the week." He smiled at the two, causing them to shiver as he said, "You'd better not forget what you learned today." The two nodded quickly. "Alright, then get your things and we'll head to dinner."

Furuya and Eijun trudged after Haruichi, steam practically coming out of their heads. They all put their bags into their rooms before heading to get some dinner.

"You're late today," Ryousuke said as Haruichi sat across from him.

"I was helping Eijun-kun and Furuya-kun finish their math workbooks," Haruichi said with a smile. "They managed to get about half way through before we decided to call it a night." Miyuki, Masuko and Kuramochi nearly choked on their food/drink when they heard that. Haruichi looked worriedly at his seniors and asked, "Are you alright?"

"You made them do…_half_ their workbook…in just a few hours?!" Kuramochi asked, gasping once he recovered from nearly choking. "What kind of magic did you _use_?!"

"I couldn't get him to finish _one_ problem when I tried to help him," Miyuki said.

Ryousuke chuckled and said, "Haruichi used to tutor some of the younger kids back home. He had experience with inattentive, stupid children."

"Onii-chan," Haruichi pouted, "That's mean."

The rest of the regulars looked at each other and thought, _'He's not denying it_.' Ryousuke simply ruffled his younger brothers' hair and continued eating.

/

Two days later, both Furuya and Eijun turned in their completed workbooks, Haruichi standing behind them, making sure they actually turned them in. Akiyama-sensei and Miyoshi-sensei were surprised to find them filled out completely, all the work shown.

"I didn't think you could do it," Miyoshi-sensei admitted. He put Eijun's workbook on his desk and said, "Since you're done, I'll go ahead and give you your tests now. Are you ready?" The two pitchers nodded, acutely aware of the pink haired dev-ah-_tutor_ behind them.

While Miyoshi-sensei took them to an empty classroom to monitor their tests, Akiyama-sensei turned to Haruichi. "How did you do it?" He asked, beginning to look over Furuya's work.

Haruichi smiled. "I used to tutor some of the younger kids back home," He said honestly, "You just have to give them the right incentive to learn."

"And what incentive did you offer those two?" Akiyama-sensei asked. He shivered at the smile he received. "Never mind, forget I asked. Try and make them pay attention in class from now on though, or at least to do their work and turn it in on time. We can't always be so forgiving or lenient just because they're in the baseball club."

"I understand," Haruichi said. "I don't think it'll be a problem anymore." He bowed to his teacher and left, heading back to his room.

Sure enough, the next lesson, both Furuya and Eijun paid rapt attention. They took detailed notes and asked when they weren't sure on something, answering questions they knew the answer to. They finished all their work either during the breaks, over lunch or before they went to bed.

"I don't know what your brother did," Kuramochi said to Ryousuke one night, "But he must have scared the shit out of Sawamura. I keep hearing him muttering to himself how he has to ace the next exam or, and I quote, 'Harucchi's going to string me up in the darkest pit of hell and torture me without killing me' and stuff like that."

Miyuki shivered and said, "I don't want to know what he did. I'm just glad we don't have to worry about them being kicked off the team because they're failing."

"Yeah, but it's bugging me. What the hell did he do?"

Ryousuke chuckled. "Haruichi's a strict teacher with those who don't pay attention or try very hard." He didn't elaborate as he proceeded to crush Kuramochi in the video game they had been playing.

**/**

**Not how I planned it, but meh ;)**

**Also, THIS NEXT POINT IS IMPORTANT SO PLEASE READ!**

**So I got a prompt from Maiden Warrior (You are the best! Thank you for the ideas and all your wonderful reviews! It makes me want to write more!) who asked me to do a Halloween story. I'm really, REALLY excited to do this, but I need ideas for everyone's costumes! Please help me!**

**I'm not sure if it will be a one shot in this story or on its' own, but I'll figure that out later. For now, COSTUME IDEAS! Either review them or pm me with the ideas! Also, Furuya, Eijun and Haruichi will be cross-dressing. I'm still trying to figure out if I want the others to or not...**

**Thanks! I love you all! ;)**

**~Akirafanatic**


	15. Halloween

**Thank you to Maiden Warrior for the costume ideas ;)**

**/**

"Listen up!" Coach Kataoka said after dinner. The regulars got quiet and turned to him. He nodded to Takashima-sensei who stepped up.

"As you all know," She began, "Halloween is right around the corner. For you first years," She turned to the three in the back, "Seidou has an annual Halloween costume party. Everyone is expected to dress up and attend. This year, Miyuki-kun and Kominato-kun," She gestured to the older brother, "Are in charge of the costumes." About half the regulars paled when the two shared a smile. "That is all." She and coach Kataoka left while the regulars talked.

Miyuki snickered and said, "This is going to be so much fun!" He turned to the three first years and said, "By the way, our baseball club has a tradition."

Eijun looked wary of the looks on all the regulars' faces as he asked, "What is it?"

Ryousuke chuckled and said, "Any freshmen who make it into the regulars are required to cross-dress." Haruichi's face paled before it turned red, just thinking of what his brother might force him into. Furuya stared at his seniors for a bit before he turned away with a huff. Eijun gaped at the other regulars.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He finally yelled. "I'm NOT wearing a dress!"

"You don't have a choice," Miyuki said, slinging an arm over his shoulders, "Because Ryou-san and I get to choose what you wear."

"Like hell!" Eijun said, throwing his seniors arm off. "What's with that anyway?!"

"It's to make sure everyone has a costume," Kuramochi explained, "And that _some people_ don't try and skip out."

"We'll have them decided by dinner tomorrow," Miyuki said. He nodded to Ryousuke who stood and followed the catcher out of the room.

The two went to Ryousuke's room, knowing they wouldn't be disturbed there for a while and started planning.

"I already have a few ideas," Miyuki said as he sat in Juns' desk chair. Ryousuke raised an eyebrow and gestured him to continue. "First, I think Tetsu, our fearless captain, should be a samurai." Ryousuke chuckled as he pictured their captain in a topknot and wielding a sword. "Also, Chris-senpai should be a priest."

"A priest?" Ryousuke asked.

Miyuki snickered and said, "Yeah, 'cause anyone who deals with Sawamura needs saint like patience so they don't kill him." Ryousuke hummed in thought.

"In that case," He said, "Why don't we make Tanba and Masuko monks at his temple?" Miyuki blinked before he burst out laughing.

"T-That's perfect!" When he got his breathing back under control he asked, "So what are you going as Ryou-san?"

Ryousuke smiled and said, "Vampire."

Miyuki shivered a little. "That fit's you a little too well," He muttered.

"What?"

"I'm going as a devil."

"You're supposed to wear a costume though."

Miyuki grinned as he said, "How mean." Ryousuke simply smiled. "Anyway, what about the first years?"

Ryousuke said, "I'll leave Sawamura and Furuya to you. I already have an idea for Haruichi."

"Ho? Do tell."

"I have a kimono I think would look very good on him."

"Che, how boring. You should put him in something a little more revealing, like that gypsy outfit he wore during the cultural festival."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Come on! Just a kimono is so plain."

"No."

"Ryou-san," Miyuki sighed. Ryousuke opened his eyes a little and Miyuki shivered, curling in on himself a bit. "Alright," He conceded, "Kimono it is." Ryousuke closed his eyes and smiled. Miyuki rolled his eyes and muttered, "Brother complex." He laughed nervously at Ryousuke's raised eyebrow.

He sat up when he realized something and said, "Wait. Why do you have a kimono in your brothers' size?" Ryousuke only chuckled, causing Miyuki to sweat drop. "Anyway," He said, not wanting to dwell on the subject for too long, "Since your brother will be completely covered up, Sawamura and Furuya will have to show a little more."

"You already have an idea for them both," Ryousuke observed. Miyuki grinned widely and told the third year his idea. Ryousuke chuckled as he thought about the looks on the pitchers' faces when they heard what they'd be wearing.

/

The next day after dinner, the regulars waited nervously to hear what they were going to be. Miyuki and Ryousuke made their way to the front and smiled at the nervous faces before them. Miyuki held the stack of costumes the two had procured the day before while Ryousuke started calling them up.

"Chris," The third year said, "Priest." Chris raised an eyebrow but took his costume. "Tanba and Masuko, monks." There was a lot of snickering as the two went up to receive their costumes. "Tetsu, samurai." Tetsu nodded, serious as always, as he took his costume and fake sword. "Jun, zombie. Kuramochi, werewolf." The two let out a breath of relief when they heard they'd gotten normal costumes. "Coach, general." A few of the regulars snickered under their breath.

After all the upperclassmen had gotten their costumes, Ryousuke and Miyuki handed the first years their costumes. "Sawamura will be my personal maid," Miyuki said, causing the brown haired pitcher to sputter, "And our monster rookie will be my personal nurse." Furuya looked away from his senior, refusing to touch the costume that was held out to him.

Ryousuke ruffled his brothers' hair and handed him his costume. Haruichi sighed in relief when he saw it was a kimono and not another revealing outfit like the gypsy's outfit he'd been forced into before. He smiled up at his brother and asked, "What are you and Miyuki-senpai going as?"

"I'm going to be a vampire," Ryousuke said, smiling widely and showing the fake fangs he'd put in. "Miyuki is going to going as a devil."

"I thought everyone was supposed to dress up," Haruichi thought. He turned red when everyone stared at him, realizing he'd said it out loud. Miyuki sweat dropped while all the others started laughing. Ryousuke put an arm around his brother as he chuckled.

**/**

**Let me know if you want this continued or not. If you do, I'll make it its' own story, otherwise I'll leave the rest to your imagination. Also, concerning the gypsy outfit I referred to in this, it's part of another story I'm working on so... ;P**

**Let me know what you thought and if you have any other ideas!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	16. Practice Bat

**I had to. I just had to.**

**/**

"There's no way it should be possible," Jun said, staring down at Haruichi. Practice had just ended for the day and Jun had stopped Haruichi before he could leave the dugout. His statement caught the attention of the rest of the regulars who stopped and turned to the two.

Haruichi tilted his head in confusion. "What shouldn't be possible senpai?" He asked. Instead of answering, Jun crouched down and stared hard, gaze going all up and down the length of Haruichi's body, causing the first year to become uncomfortable. "S-Senpai?" He asked, taking a step back.

"I just don't understand," Jun said to himself, grabbing Haruichi's wrist and prodding his arm. He continued to circle the small teen, poking and prodding him as Haruichi flushed with the attention and the random inspection.

After a few minutes of prodding, Jun stood up and grabbed Haruichi's waist, lifting the teen off the ground and eliciting a yelp from the unexpected action. "S-Senpai!" Haruichi said fearfully, his hands grabbing Jun's arms to help steady himself.

Jun put him down and instead grabbed one of his hands, holding it up and placing it against his. He frowned even more and let the hand go. Without any warning, he grabbed the bottom of Haruichi's shirt and stripped it off in one quick motion, causing the poor boys' entire face to turn red. Jun ignored it and circled him, staring intently at the exposed skin.

By now, every regular was gaping at the bold move, not sure what was going on and whether they should save the first year or not. Ryousuke frowned and started forward, but before he could say anything, Jun grabbed his arm and pulled him forward until he was standing next to his younger brother. Jun quickly shed the older Kominato of his shirt before stepping back and examining them side to side.

Haruichi, a little scared by the strange behavior his senior was displaying, grabbed onto his brothers' arm and stepped closer to him.

Jun plopped onto the ground and crossed his legs. He put his elbow on his knee and rested his chin in his hand. "This just doesn't make sense!" He cried out, still staring at the two brothers.

"What doesn't make sense?" Miyuki asked.

Jun waved his free hand in Haruichi's direction. "This!" He cried, frowning at the quivering first year. Ryousuke put an arm around his brothers' shoulders and was about to say something when Jun continued. "How the hell can he hit with that kind of power?!" He demanded. "I could understand Ryou-san, since he's at least got muscle, but he," Here he pointed at Haruichi, "He doesn't have anything! He's fucking tiny! Where the hell does that power come from? It doesn't make sense!"

Miyuki and the rest of the regulars turned to the brothers. What Jun had said was true. Even standing next to his older brother, who was only a little taller than him, Haruichi looked tiny. He was slim and didn't have any noticeable muscle on him, his chest and stomach being flat and smooth. His arms were thin, compared to Ryousuke's muscular ones, and his shoulders were thin instead of broad. His body shape was more suited to a girls than a guys.

Ryousuke looked down at his little brother who was attempting to hide behind him, uncomfortable with all the attention on him and sighed. He ruffled Haruichi's soft pink locks and gave him a smile before he looked back up at the regulars who were now talking amongst themselves about what Jun had brought up.

"He has a point," Tetsu said, staring at Haruichi, "No matter how I look at him, I don't see any muscle."

"I can pick him up with one hand!" Jun exclaimed. "He weighs practically nothing!"

"By all rights," Miyuki said, "He shouldn't be able to hit like he does."

"And let's not forget he uses a wooden bat," Kuramochi said, hefting Haruichi's bat.

"What's so important about that?" Eijun asked, only to get smacked upside the head by Kuramochi.

"A wooden bat normally doesn't let you hit as far," He explained to his clueless roommate.

"Really?" Eijun asked, receiving nods from the rest of the seniors.

"That means he has to use more power to hit it as far as he does," Tetsu said, bringing one hand up to his chin.

"See!" Jun said, "It just doesn't make sense!" He turned and stalked over to Haruichi, glaring down at him. "What the hell is your secret?"

Ryousuke frowned and planted himself between Jun and his younger brother. "Haruichi," He said calmly, not taking his eyes off his roommate, "Go get it." Haruichi nodded and scampered off.

"What did you send him to get?" Miyuki asked.

"His 'secret'," Ryousuke answered, "As Jun put it." They waited until Haruichi returned, carrying a bat that looked exactly the same as his regular one, save for the black ring that was painted on it.

"Another bat?" Tetsu asked.

"This is his practice bat," Ryousuke said, gesturing Jun to take it. Haruichi hesitated and looked at his brother who nodded to him before handing the bat over to Jun. The center fielder grasped the handle and was about to say something when Haruichi let the bat go.

A loud crash echoed through the dugout as the bat fell to the ground, Jun going with it. The tall third year looked stunned as he stared at the bat that had cracked the cement from its' short fall.

"What the hell?" He asked before he grasped the handle with both hands, braced himself and pulled with all his might. The bat didn't budge an inch. Ryousuke watched with a smile and Haruichi looked on worriedly as the rest of the regulars tried and failed to move the bat even a millimeter from its' current resting place.

Only once all had tried did Ryousuke push Haruichi forward a little. Everyone watched, stunned as the smallest of them all easily hefted the bat with one hand, twirling it in his hand before resting it on his shoulder. He turned to his brother who jerked his head and nodded, leaving to put his bat away.

Only once he was gone did Jun asked, "What the fuck?"

Ryousuke chuckled and said, "That's the bat he practices with. Two hours every night before bed."

"How is he able to lift it so easily?" Miyuki asked.

Here Ryousuke frowned. "Some neighborhood kids were playing baseball and didn't want to let Haruichi join, so they got a weighted bat and told him that they'd only let him play if he was able to swing that bat. It was too heavy for him, but since I was busy and couldn't play with him, he kept trying until he was able to swing it.

"The older kids didn't want to let someone so small play with them, so they told him to make it ten pounds heavier. They kept doing this over and over until the bat was too heavy for anyone else to lift. By that time, they'd grown bored of bullying him like that and told him straight up that they'd never let him join because he was too small to play.

"I didn't know what had been going on until he came crying to me that nobody would let him play." Ryousuke smiled and all the other regulars shivered. "I talked with them and they changed their minds about letting him play. By that point, had he used a regular bat, they would have lost all their balls, so he was stuck using the weighed bat since he didn't know how to hold back.

"Eventually, he got so used to having it weighed that he kept going back and making it heavier, saying that it was too light. He uses a wooden bat precisely because you can't hit as far as with a metal bat, though he's forced to hold back still."

The regulars were silent as they took it all in before Tetsu asked, "If he's that strong, then why does he look like he does?"

Ryousuke chuckled and said, "Haruichi was supposed to be born a girl." He looked where his brother had disappeared to and said, "He's never going to bulk up like the rest of us. He probably won't grow anymore either."

"Hold on," Miyuki said, "Even though he's small, he has all that muscle, which is heavier than fat, but Jun's able to pick him up with one hand. Shouldn't he be heavier than that?"

"Maybe," Ryousuke said with a light shrug, "But that's just how he is. The doctors aren't worried about it, so neither am I."

"Something wrong Tetsu?" Kuramochi asked. The captain was staring intently at the ground, seemingly lost in thought.

"He was supposed to be a girl," Tetsu said, "What would he look like in a dress?" Everyone turned as Haruichi came back, each trying to picture the first year in a dress.

Many had to turn away, their cheeks red, as they held their noses. Haruichi tilted his head a bit and looked at brother. "What happened?" He asked. Ryousuke smiled and patted Haruichi's head.

"Nothing," He said, guiding his brother away, "Nothing at all."

**/**

**I had to ;)**


	17. Midterms

**So this was the original version of the chapter Study. I felt like I should at least put it up in case some of you like this better.**

**/**

"Midterms are coming up," Coach Kataoka said, addressing the regulars, "We will not have practice again until after they are over. Anyone who gets a failing grade will be suspended from practice for a week and will be dropped from the regulars. That is all."

Eijun and Furuya seemed to have turned to stone at the announcement, neither having very good grades. Miyuki saw this and laughed. He clasped the two on the shoulder and said, "You'd better study hard, or you'll get dropped."

Haruichi smiled as he watched the rest of the regulars come over and give the two a hard time about their grades. He looked up when he felt a hand on his head and smiled at his older brother.

"I take it you're ready for the midterms?" Ryousuke asked.

Haruichi nodded. "They should be easy," He told his brother. "You?"

Ryousuke chuckled. "Piece of cake." He ruffled his younger brothers hair lightly before he joined the rest of the regulars in teasing the frozen freshmen.

"Ryou-san," Jun said as the teasing died down. "Will you...I need...For the..."

Jun frowned as he thought of how to word this and Ryousuke chuckled before he nodded. "I'll help you study," He said, getting a grateful smile from the center fielder.

The next day, Eijun sat in a chair in front of Haruichi's desk during a break and dropped his head onto the smaller teen's desk. "I'm doomed," He said. "I'm going to be dropped from the regulars."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Haruichi said, trying to cheer up his friend.

"I didn't understand anything the teacher was talking about though!" Eijun wailed.

"It's not that hard," Haruichi said, taking out his notes from earlier. "Look," He said, gesturing to the lesson. Eijun raised his head and his eyes grew wide when he saw the detailed notes that Haruichi had written in his small, neat handwriting. He'd even color coded some of the more important things.

"Amazing," Eijun breathed as he stared at the notebook as though it were sacred. He held his hands near it but stopped a few inches away, as though it would be a serious crime to actually touch it.

Haruichi sweat dropped and laughed weakly. "It's not that amazing," He muttered. He gestured to what they were learning today and started repeating the more important parts of the lesson. He only got a few sentences in though, when he saw that Eijun and Furuya, who had come over a few moments prior, seemed clueless.

He frowned in thought before he said, "How about you come over to my room later and I'll help you." Eijun lit up like a little kid who'd gotten exactly what they wanted for Christmas while Furuya gave a small smile. "Alright, well class is going to start soon, so you should head back to your class."

Eijun jumped up and hugged the smaller teen while saying, "Thank you Harucchi! You're the best!" He then ran out of the room, leaving a red faced Haruichi. Furuya put a hand on Haruichi's head as he passed to go to his own seat.

Later that night, Eijun barged into Haruichi's room, only to find his pink haired friend missing. "Where's Harucchi?" He asked Chris, Haruichi's roommate.

"Furuya-kun came and I believe they went to the library to study," Chris answered. Eijun growled and ran from the room, slamming the door as he left. Chris sighed and turned back to his own studies.

Eijun ran through the school until he got to the library. He nearly slammed the doors open and stalked through it until he found Haruichi sitting at a table with Furuya, explaining something to the other first year pitcher.

"Eijun-kun," Haruichi greeted when said teen dropped into the chair on Haruichi's right, the one on his left being occupied by Furuya.

"I couldn't find you Harucchi!" Eijun wailed softly, not wanting to be kicked out for being too loud. He draped himself over the shorter teen, earning a glare from Furuya.

"We thought the library would be a better place to study without distractions," Haruichi explained. "I was just explaining today's history lesson to Furuya-kun."

Eijun kept his arms around Haruichi as he placed his chin on his friends head and looked at the notes. To him, none of the words meant anything. "What's this?" He asked, pointing to one section that Haruichi had highlighted.

"That's something that will probably be on the midterm," Haruichi explained. "I highlighted everything that our teacher put an emphasis on or told us we would see on a later test so I could go back and review it."

"Eh?" Eijun said as he reached forward and flipped through a few pages, seeing just how much was highlighted.

Haruichi chuckled and turned to Furuya who was still glaring at Eijun. "Did you understand what I was telling you?" He asked. Furuya didn't answer as he wrapped an arm around Haruichi's waist and put his head on the teens shoulder.

Haruichi blinked and sighed at his friends behavior. Instead of attempting to remove them, Haruichi took out his notes and started to explain and review everything that would potentially be on the midterms.

Twenty minutes in, the two pitchers fell asleep. Haruichi tried to wake the two without being too loud, but neither pitcher was inclined to let go, and tightened their grips when he tried to get them to let go.

After about five minutes of useless struggle, Haruichis' phone rang. He quickly pulled it out and answered it before a librarian came and scolded him. "Hello?" He asked quietly.

"Where are you?" Ryousukes' voice asked from the other side of the phone. "If you don't hurry you'll be late for dinner."

Haruichi shifted in an attempt to get free, but that only caused Eijun to tighten his grip and Furuya to bring his other arm around Haruichi, burying his head into the smaller teens neck.

"I'm trapped," He said, attempting to block out the way Eijun and Furuyas' breath was ghosting against his neck.

"I thought you were studying?" Ryousuke asked.

"I was but...Eijun-kun and Furuya-kun fell asleep and I can't move."

Ryousuke chuckled and said, "I'll come help. Where are you?"

"The library. We're back in a corner near the-"Haruichi's breath caught as one of Furuya's hands wandered a little low. He flushed red and moved the hand away.

"Haruichi?"

"S-Sorry. P-Please hur-"He yelped when Eijun pulled him back and the three fell from their chairs. His phone slid across the floor out of his reach and he could hear his brothers voice on the other end for a few seconds before the line went silent, signaling that Ryousuke had hung up.

Haruichi struggled and tried to reach his phone, but Eijun had pinned his arms to his side and was clinging to him as though he was a large teddy bear. Furuya was using his stomach as a pillow and had his arms wrapped around his waist.

When Haruichi tried to struggle, they both tightened their grips and Furuya snuggled closer, rubbing his head and causing Haruichi's shirt to ride up so that his head was lying on Haruichi's bare stomach. Eijun wasn't much better, as the brown haired pitcher had one hand resting on Haruichi's chest and his head was nuzzled into the shorter teens neck.

Haruichi decided to lay as still as possible after that.

When Ryousuke and the rest of the regulars showed up, they could only stop and stare at the scene for a while. Most had to turn away and cover their mouths so they wouldn't laugh. Haruichi's face was completely red and he looked pleadingly at his older brother, who looked ready to kill the two pitchers.

Chris sighed and moved over, shaking Eijun in an attempt to wake him up. All that did was make the pitcher snuggle closer, one of his hands going down near Furuya's head and resting on Haruichi's stomach.

The small first year was looking highly uncomfortable and Kuramochi decided to take pity on him as well as save the two sleeping teens from his older brothers wrath.

"If you don't wake up soon you'll be late for practice and coach will drop you from the regulars," Kuramochi said. He leaned back when Eijun's eyes snapped open and he lifted his head up.

He blinked when he saw all the regulars staring down at him and said, "Why are you in my room?"

Chris smacked him on the head and gestured toward Haruichi. "You're in the library and you're making Kominato-kun uncomfortable." Eijun looked down and flushed red when he realized his position, jumping back and freeing Haruichi.

Chris helped the pink haired first year to sit up, but Furuya was still sleeping and refused to let go of his comfortable and warm pillow. Ryousuke wasn't so nice in waking the black haired pitcher and stomped down on the sleeping teens back.

Furuya opened his eyes and braced his hands on the ground before lifting his head a bit. He stared at his pillow, in this case Haruichi's stomach, for a few moments before he closed his eyes and laid back down, one again latching onto the shorter teen.

Jun held Ryousuke back when he tried to go at the pitcher once more while Miyuki and Tetsu grabbed hold of Furuya, Chris holding Haruichi as they tried to pull the pitcher off.

"He's like a leech," Miyuki said after a minute of pulling and no success.

"Let's try his hands," Tetsu suggested. Miyuki nodded and the two grabbed Furuya's wrists, each pulling until they finally came apart. Chris quickly slid the small first year out from under Furuya before helping his stand.

"T-Thank you," Haruichi said, giving a small bow to his roommate and senior as he fixed his shirt.

Ryousuke elbowed Jun in the stomach, forcing him to let go and making Jun double over in pain, before he went over and pulled his younger brother in a hug. "Are you alright?" He asked, pulling Haruichi away and looking over him for any injuries. "There was a crash on the phone."

Haruichi nodded. "E-Eijun-kun leaned back too far," He said. "He pulled Furuya-kun and I with him as he fell." He saw his older brothers face darken and smiled. "I'm alright," He said, gaining Ryousuke's attention once more. "I mostly fell on Eijun-kun, so it didn't hurt."

Ryousuke stared at his brother for a few seconds before he sighed and nodded. "Alright," He said. He let go of his brother and went over to the table, gathering up Haruichi's notes while Haruichi went to pick up his phone.

"Harucchi!" Eijun called as the brothers started leaving. He flinched back when he saw the glare Ryousuke was giving him but focused on Haruichi and asked, "Will you still help me study?"

Ryousuke smiled and all the regulars save for Haruichi felt a shiver run down their spine. "I'll help you study," He said, stepping in front of his brother slightly.

"But-"

"Haruichi needs to concentrate on his own studies," Ryousuke said. "I don't want him to lose points simply because he was too busy helping you two to study. Meet me here tomorrow." Eijun wanted to protest, but he nodded, too scared of the possible punishment if he refused.

"You're lucky Eijun-kun," Haruichi said, looking around his brother, "Onii-chan's the top of his class. With his help, I'm sure you'll ace your midterms."

Ryousuke ruffled his younger brothers hair and said, "You're also top of your class. I'm sure I can help these two pass at least, so I want you to focus on your studies instead of worrying about them, alright?" Haruichi nodded and Ryousuke pinched one of his cheeks, chuckling when he pouted. "Let's go eat," He said, putting an arm around Haruichi and guiding him out of the library.

The rest of the regulars stared after them and Miyuki laughed. "He has such a brothers complex," He said. He put an arm around Furuya and Eijun. "I wish you luck tomorrow. Try not to die."

He laughed as he dragged the two out of the library and over to dinner.

When midterms were over, both Furuya and Eijun had passed, though they cringed every time Ryousuke even looked at them, and they stood straight as statues when Haruichi was near, careful to keep a set distance between them.

"I heard you got perfect scores again," Haruichi told his brother when they were eating, "Congratulations, Onii-chan."

"I should be congratulating you," Ryousuke said, ruffling Haruichi's hair, "I heard you're top in your year." Haruichi flushed red, but smiled.

"Thank you for helping Eijun-kun and Furuya-kun study," Haruichi said. "It wouldn't have been as much fun had they been dropped from the regulars."

Eijun and Furuya shivered when they felt Ryousuke's glare.

Miyuki snorted as he watched the interaction and said, "I doubt he even knows how much power he has over Ryou-san."

Jun shivered and said, "Ryou-san can be scary. We may be friends, but if his brother says something about me, he'd probably kill me just so his brother's attention is on him again."

"If you're on his good side," Tetsu mused aloud, "Then Ryou-san won't kill you for fear of his brother getting upset at him and ignoring him."

Miyuki laughed and said, "Yeah, but he'd kill you before you could get close to his brother."

"So to get on his good side, you'd have to get him away from Ryou-san," Tetsu said.

They all looked at each other before turning to the brothers where Ryousuke was forcing a piece of fish into Haruichi's mouth, while the younger teen was attempting to push his brother away, saying that he could eat on his own.

"That's not going to happen," Miyuki said, watching as Ryousuke started wiping Haruichi's mouth before pulling him so that Haruichi was practically sitting on his lap.

/

**Let me know what you thought of the original version!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	18. Sick

**Yep. Thank you Maiden Warrior for the idea ;)**

**/**

Ryousuke frowned as he watched his little brother. Haruichi was helping Eijun and Furuya while also working on his batting. At the moment, Furuya was resting while Eijun was pitching. Haruichi hit the ball deep into left field, causing Eijun to yell in frustration.

"Why can't I get you out?!" He yelled, pointing at Haruichi who chuckled a bit as he got back into his batting stance.

"I'm used to your pitching Eijun-kun," Haruichi said, trying to calm the pouting pitcher. "Would you like to stop?"

"No!" Eijun scowled, determination raging in his eyes, "I'm going to get you out today! Just wait and see!" He pitched again, only for Haruichi to once again sent it to the outfield causing Eijun to scream and Miyuki, who was the catcher, to laugh.

"How long have they been doing this?" Ryousuke asked as he walked up to the other regulars who had been watching the spectacle for a while.

"Ryou-san," Jun greeted before turning back to watch, "They started about an hour or two ago when Miyuki wanted Sawamura and Furuya to try pitching when there was someone batting, but once your brother hit his pitch five times in a row he started getting angry and swore he'd get your brother out. Miyuki switched him and Furuya to try and calm Sawamura down, but it only got Furuya fired up when his pitches were hit as well. Miyuki's tried to get them to stop but neither will until they get a strike against your brother."

Ryousuke hummed a bit and turned back to Haruichi, who was panting a bit from the continuous batting he was forced into. He could tell that his brother was having a hard time batting like normal, and he didn't miss the way Haruichi shook his head and wavered ever so slightly when Miyuki had Eijun and Furuya switch again.

He sighed and strode forward before Furuya could throw his first pitch. He ignored everyone's questions and took the bat from Haruichi before bending and scooping Haruichi up so he was over his right shoulder before heading to the dugout.

Haruichi struggled slightly, but he was too tired to really put up any real fight. "What are you doing?" Eijun asked, "We're still practicing!" Ryousuke didn't bother to answer and simply flicked Eijun's forehead as he passed.

Ryousuke walked up to the coach, not bothering to put Haruichi down, and said, "I'm taking Haruichi back to his room." The coach looked at where Haruichi was draped and found that the younger Kominato had stopped struggling and was simply lying limply, nearly gasping for breath, and nodded.

As he walked away, Ryousuke bounced Haruichi a bit so he could get a better grip. He chuckled when a small groan of protest came.

"I'm not done yet!" Eijun yelled. He started to run after the two, only to have Chris hold him back. "Let me go! I haven't gotten him out yet!"

Miyuki laughed and ruffled Eijun's hair, causing the pitcher to pout. "He's exhausted," The catcher said, "You can try again tomorrow."

Ryousuke nearly tossed Haruichi onto his bed, setting his little brothers bat against the wall near his desk. He sighed when he saw how red Haruichi's face was and how he was still breathing heavily. "You were practicing with a fever," Ryousuke said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, "Weren't you?"

Haruichi didn't answer and let out a sigh of comfort when Ryousuke put a cold hand to his burning forehead. Ryousuke chuckled at the pout on his little brothers' face and the whine when he took his hand away.

"I'll go get some medicine," Ryousuke said. "When I get back we'll take a bath and you can change into your pajamas and get some sleep, alright?" Haruichi's bottom lip quivered when Ryousuke got up and he held his arms out to his older brother. Ryousuke sighed with a smile and ran a hand through Haruichi's hair. "I'll be right back," He said softly. When Haruichi's eyes started filling with tears Ryousuke gave in and picked him up.

Haruichi clung to his older brother and buried his face in Ryousuke's shoulder. "You're getting a little old for this Haru-chan," Ryousuke said, rubbing circles on Haruichi's back as he carried his little brother to his own room. Haruichi didn't say anything, content to stay where he was.

"Come on," Ryousuke said when they reached the bathroom, "You're sweaty and I'm not letting you sleep in my bed unless you're clean." He undressed and put his clothes into one of the available baskets, wrapping a towel around his waist before helping Haruichi, who was almost nodding off to sleep where he stood.

He guided his little brother into the bath and sat him on one of the stools. While Haruichi sleepily began to wash himself, Ryousuke stood behind him and washed his back before pouring some shampoo into his hand. He rubbed his hands together for a second before he started lathing it into Haruichi's hair, causing the sleepy teen's head to move forward, backward and side to side.

Only when Haruichi was relaxing in the warm water, arms hooked over the edge to keep him from drowning, did Ryousuke wash himself.

When he was done, he pulled Haruichi from the bath, where he had fallen asleep, and guided him back to the outer room. He quickly got dressed before pulled out a pair of pajamas he'd gotten for Haruichi. They were light blue, cotton pants and a white tee-shirt. He helped his brother dress and gathered both their things before turning to Haruichi, who was sitting on the ground and had his arms up toward his brother again.

"It's a good thing you're light," Ryousuke said as he hoisted his brother up once more. As he was walking back to his room, he passed the rest of the regulars, who had just finished practice. "Jun," He called to his roommate, getting not only Jun's, but the rest of the regulars attention as well.

"Ryou-san," Jun said, raising an eyebrow at Haruichi's sleeping form. "What's up with him?"

Ryousuke shifted Haruichi as he said, "Apparently he was practicing with a fever and made it worse. Would you mind bringing some medicine, a bowl of cold water and a rag back with you?" Jun clicked his tongue in annoyance, but nodded.

"Is Harucchi going to be alright?" Eijun asked, bending down a bit and staring at Haruichi's face. He reached a hand out and touched the sleeping teens' cheek, only to quickly draw it back in alarm. "He's burning up! Is he going to die?!"

Miyuki smacked Eijun's head and chuckled, "He's not going to die you idiot," He said.

"But-"

Kuramochi cut him off by grabbing him in a headlock and saying, "And if he did, it'd be your fault since you forced him to practice with you for so long!" Most of the regulars laughed at the horrified look on Sawamura's face. Ryousuke chuckled as he walked off.

When he got back to his room, he placed Haruichi on his bed and gently pried his brothers hands off, lying him down while he put their dirty clothes away. He tucked his brother into bed before rummaging through his things.

"What are you doing?" Jun asked when he walked in five minutes later.

"Looking fo-ah-found it." Ryousuke held up a white hairband, causing his roommate to raise an eyebrow. Ryousuke chuckled at the look and sat on the edge of his bed. He used the hairband to hold back Haruichi's bangs before motioning Jun closer. He dipped the rag into the cold water and wrung it out before placing it over Haruichi's head and eyes.

The sick teen moaned a bit when the cloth was placed on and shifted, but soon lay still. Jun placed the bowl of cold water on his friends' desk along with the medicine and thermometer he's gotten. "You coming to dinner?" He asked.

"Maybe later," Ryousuke said.

Jun rolled his eyes, knowing that his roommate wouldn't leave his brother alone. "I'll bring you back something." Ryousuke smiled gratefully before picking up the thermometer Jun had brought and sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Come on Haru-chan," He said softly, placing the thermometer to his brothers' lips. "I need to check your temperature." He used his free hand to gently pull his chin down, opening his mouth. He quickly slipped the thermometer under Haruichis' tongue and held it there. After about a minute, he slid it out and held it up. He sighed and turned back to his brother. "You really did a number on yourself Haru-chan. 103 is a really worrisome temperature."

He sighed and stoked his brothers' hair. For a while, he simply stayed there, watching his brother sleep. Haruichi didn't get sick very often, but when he did, he _really_ got sick. If this sickness followed the trend of others, as the fever went down his ability to keep food down would also drop and he'd be throwing up every time he ate something. That, in turn, would cause his throat to become sore and it would hurt to even drink water. When the soreness went away, the fever would come back. Only when that fever went away would he healthy again. The whole process would last about three or four days, depending.

Normally, Ryousuke would have taken him to the nurse, but when Haruichi was sick, his mind regressed into that of a child's. While it wasn't that bad, if Ryousuke or their parents' weren't around, Haruichi would start crying and fussing and generally make himself even sicker.

Ryousuke turned when the door opened and Jun walked in, carrying a tray of food. Jun jerked his head to the door and said, "Yer brothers' got a visitor." Ryousuke raised an eyebrow as Eijun entered, a bowl of soup in his hands.

"How's Harucchi?" He asked, shuffling awkwardly in the doorway. He seemed to remember the soup in his hands and thrust it forward, spilling a little on his hands and winching from the heat. "I…I brought him some soup. If…if he's hungry."

"He's sleeping," Ryousuke told him, raising an eyebrow. He let Eijun shuffle and fidget a while longer before he nodded to his desk. "You can leave it there."

Eijun stiffly moved to the desk, careful not to spill anymore of the soup, and set it down before going back to fidgeting. He glanced up at Haruichi before looking away, repeating this process for a few times before he asked, "Is…Is Harucchi going to be alright?"

Ryousuke frowned and turned to his brother. "It's going to get worse," He answered truthfully. Eijun flinched and turned away. "He should be fine after a few days though." When Eijun didn't answer, he turned back and asked, "Was there something else?"

Eijun took a deep breath and bowed low, causing Ryousuke to raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry," He said, fighting back tears. He hated seeing his friends hurting, especially if it was his fault. "I shouldn't have forced Harucchi to practice with me."

Ryousuke sighed. "It's not your fault," He said, startling the pitcher, "If it's anyone's fault, it's Haruichi's. He knew he was sick but he went to practice anyway." He ignored the flustered pitcher who was trying to put the blame on himself and turned to Jun. "You may want to stay in a different room for a while," He said, "If this winds up like I think it will you won't want to stay here."

"What about you?" Jun asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryousuke shook his head. "I have to be here if Haruichi wakes up."

"You don't hav-"He was cut off by a wine and a small whimper. Ryousuke turned and found Haruichi was awake, the rag having fallen off his face due to his shifting.

Ryousuke put one hand under his brothers' head and the other under his back, helping him sit up while he moved to sit behind him. "Come on Haru-chan," He cooed, scooping his brother up and putting him in his lap. Haruichi curled into his older brothers' embrace, burying his head in Ryousuke's chest. "You're alright," Ryousuke said softly, gently rocking his brother, one hand rubbing soothing circles on his back.

He turned toward Jun and mouthed 'medicine', flicking his eyes toward his desk before turning and putting his chin on Haruichis' head. "It's ok," He whispered, "Hey, you're alright."

When he felt Haruichi's quivering die down, he shifted him until his brothers' face was visible. He took the spoon from Jun and held it to Haruichi's lips. "Come on Haru-chan," He said softly, "You need to take this if you want to feel better. Can you open your mouth for me?" He chuckled when Haruichi barely parted his lips. "A little wider baby." He continued coxing his brother until his mouth was open enough for the spoon to fit in.

Haruichis' face scrunched up at the taste and he made a little whining sound, but he swallowed all the same. "Good boy," Ryousuke said, handing the spoon back to his roommate. "Do you think you could keep some food down? Your friend Sawamura was nice and brought you some soup. You know Sawamura, right baby?" Haruichi buried his face in Ryousuke's chest, clutching part of his shirt in each hand and shaking his head.

"Come on baby," Ryousuke coxed, "Just a little? For Onii-chan?" Ryousuke smiled softly when Haruichi looked up at him.

"Nii-chan," He croaked, his throat dry.

"That's right Haru-chan. Come on," He took the bowl from Eijun, who'd gotten the hint, and spooned a little up. "Just a few bites," He said, holding it up to his brothers' lips. Haruichi stared at the spoon for a while before he opened his lips and allowed Ryousuke to feed him. "Good boy," Ryousuke praised, kissing his brothers' head. He was able to get Haruichi to eat three more spoonfuls before he refused to eat anymore.

Ryousuke sighed and gave the bowl back to Eijun before putting his arms around his brother and rocking him slightly while rubbing soothing circles on his back. "Get some sleep now baby," Ryousuke whispered before he started to hum softly. It didn't take very long for Haruichi to fall asleep after that. Ryousuke waited for a few minutes after he'd fallen asleep to carefully lay him back down and tuck him in, rewetting the towel and placing it back on his brothers' forehead.

He sat on the edge of the bed and turned to the others in the room, only to frown at the smirk on his roommates' face and the stars in Eijun's eyes. "What?" He asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with Ryou-san?" Jun asked.

"Harucchi's so cute!" Eijun gushed, "And Onii-chan's so amazing!"

Ryousuke frowned and looked away, his face automatically relaxing into a soft smile when he looked at his brother. He reached forward and tucked few stay hairs behind Haruichis' ear. Jun snorted and put an arm around Eijuns' neck. "Come on," He said, "We're just in the way." He threw one last smirk in Ryousuke's direction before he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm sleeping in here tonight," Jun announced when he and Eijun entered Tetsu and Miyukis' room. All the other regulars looked up at them and Tetsu nodded before going back to glaring at the game before him.

"Why?" Miyuki asked, "And what's wrong with him?" He gestured to the still star struck Eijun who was gazing into the distance with a stupid grin on his face.

Jun snorted and said, "If I stayed in that room I'd just feel like a third wheel. I swear Ryou-san's possessed. I've never seen him act so…so…_mushy_ before."

Kuramochi, who had just taken a drink from his water bottle, suddenly spluttered and hacked, nearly choking. Masuko, who was the closest, pounded a fist on his roommates back to try and help. When Kuramochi was no longer in danger of choking, he looked at Jun, slightly green in the face and asked, "They're like…like _that_ with each other."

Jun rolled his eyes. "No," He said, making Kuramochi sigh in relief, "Ryou-san was just doting on his brother, treating him like a child, calling him Haru-chan or baby."

Eijun sighed joyfully before he _squealed,_ "Harucchi was so cute!" Many of the regulars shivered, finding the squeal of their brown haired, first year pitcher rather disturbing. "Onii-chan was so sweet and gentle."

Kuramochi nearly choked on his water again, though for an entirely different reason this time. "Ryou-san, sweet and gentle do not belong in the same sentence," He gasped. He shivered at the mere thought of it.

"Heh," Miyuki laughed, "Maybe he has a brother complex. Then it would make sense how he was acting."

"But he and his brother rarely talk," Kuramochi said. "If anything, it's his brother with the complex. He _idolizes_ Ryou-san."

"Maybe Ryou-san's embarrassed," Tetsu suggested, finally making a move.

"Or maybe he's just worried about his brother," Tanba said. "He really didn't seem very good when we saw him."

"That reminds me," Eijun said, snapping out of his daze, "Onii-chan said Harucchi was going to get worse."

"He'd know the best," Miyuki said, "He's probably dealt with this before."

"He's not going to leave his brothers' side until he's healthy again," Jun said, sitting down and picking up a magazine, "He made that pretty clear."

"If that's the case we should probably check on them periodically to make sure there's nothing they need," Masuko said.

"I'll check on them in the morning after breakfast," Jun said. "I'll also bring Ryou-san some food, since he won't leave to get it himself."

"I'll check on them at lunch," Kuramochi offered.

"I've got after practice," Miyuki said lazily.

"I'll check on them after dinner," Chris said. With that set, they went back to what they had been doing before, pushing the brothers' to the back of their minds.

/

In the morning, Jun came into the room with a tray of food for Ryousuke. When the second baseman saw the food, he seemed to teleport to his brothers' side. Jun was about to ask what the matter was when Haruichi turned and hurled into the trashcan Ryousuke had placed beside the bed the night before.

The older Kominato held his young brothers' hair back, rubbing circles on his back. Ryousuke looked at Jun and jerked his head toward the door, motioning the center fielder to leave. When Haruichi was finished, Ryousuke took a few tissues and wiped his brothers' mouth. Haruichi gasped, shoulders shaking with sobs as he curled next to his brother.

"Shh," Ryousuke whispered, petting Haruichis' head, "Hey, it's alright. It's not your fault. Come on, I know it hurts baby. It'll get better, I promise. Shh, you're alright." He kept whispered comforting words as he rocked back and forth, holding his brother. When Haruichi calmed down, Ryousuke handed him a water bottle and said, "Go ahead and rinse your mouth out." He helped Haruichi take a small sip before having him spit it into the trashcan. They repeated the process a few times until the water bottle was half empty.

"Alright," Ryousuke whispered, putting the water bottle away, "Try and get some more sleep baby." Haruichi nodded and closed his eyes, resting his head against his brothers' shoulder. Ryousuke hummed softly, running his fingers through Haruichis' hair until his brother fell asleep. Only when he was sure Haruichi wasn't going to wake up did Ryousuke take the soiled trashcan and quietly step outside.

Jun raised an eyebrow in question to what just happened when he saw the pink haired teen step outside. Ryousuke motioned for the tall third year to follow him as he went to clean out the trashcan. When they were away from the door, Ryousuke said, "Thank you for bringing food, but next time, please don't." At Juns' narrowed eyes he explained, "Haruichi can't stomach anything right now. Even the smell of food makes him nauseous."

"Is this what you meant when you said it'd get worse?" Jun asked.

Ryousuke sighed. "Kind of. While he throws up today at even the smell of food, he's going to refuse to eat anything tomorrow because his throat will hurt too much to swallow anything. His fever's going to come back after that too, so he won't want to eat much. He loses about twenty pounds or more when he gets sick like this. Even when he's better he's going to pick at his food for a few days. If we don't watch him and make him eat, he'll make himself sick again."

Jun frowned. "He's tiny enough as is," He said after a while. "It can't be healthy for him to lose that much in such a short amount of time."

"It's not," Ryousuke said, pausing in his cleaning. "He's already so close to being underweight when he's healthy since he doesn't eat much, so losing twenty pounds is a big deal for him. He's not going to gain it back for a while either, since if we force him to eat too much he's just going to throw it back up later."

"So what do we do?"

"We just make sure he eats what he's able to at each meal. Our mother also has a tea she usually makes for him to drink with his meals, since it helps him stomach a little more and also gives him extra vitamins that his body needs. I'll call her later and ask for the recipe."

"I'll let the others know to keep food away." Ryousuke sent him a grateful glance. "Someone will come and watch him for you while you eat." He held up a hand to stop the protest he just knew was coming. "We're not going to let you starve just because your brother is sick and won't eat anything." That said, he took the now clean trashcan and thrust the tray of food into Ryousuke's hands. "You eat. I'll watch your brother while you do."

As he walked away, Ryousuke smiled and whispered, "Thanks Jun."

The center fielder quietly opened the door to his room, not wanting to disturb Haruichi, who was still sleeping. Taking his time, he changed into his uniform, lounging in his desk chair and picking up one of his abandon magazines, flipping through it while he waited for Ryousuke to come back. He looked up when Haruichi shifted, but turned back to his browsing when he saw the younger teen was still asleep.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Tetsu poked his head in. "You're going to be late," He said softly, not wanting to wake Haruichi. "Where's Ryou-san?"

"I sent him to eat," Jun said just a quiet. "Apparently he," He gestured to Haruichi, "Will barf at the smell of food, so I said I'd watch him while he ate."

Tetsu nodded. "I'll let sensei know that you may be late." Jun waved in thanks before going back to his magazine. It wasn't even five minutes later that Ryousuke reentered the room. He thanked his roommate, who just waved lazily as he left, before changing the cloth on his brothers' forehead.

Kuramochi popped in at lunch and smiled at Ryousuke. "I'm here to relieve you so you can eat," He said, having been warned beforehand not to bring in any food.

Ryousuke nodded and said, "Call me if he wakes up." Kuramochi mock saluted, a wide grin plastered on his face. Ryousuke chuckled softly as he left.

Kuramochi plopped himself down on one of the chairs and let his gaze wander around the room. There wasn't much for him to do, since he had to keep quiet. His eyes alighted on the magazine Jun had been flipping through earlier and he picked it up. He flipped through it himself, occasionally throwing glances at the sleeping teen on the bed, making sure he wasn't about to wake up.

It was quiet, save for the occasional flip of the page. Barely six minutes had passed before Ryousuke came back in. Kuramochi raised an eyebrow and asked softly, "Did you actually eat, or did you inhale everything?"

Ryousuke shook his head with a smile and said, "Thanks for watching him." Kuramochi waved him off.

"I just sat here." He got up and headed for the door. "Take care of yourself Ryou-san. Call us if you need anything." Ryousuke nodded.

/

"Haiya!" Miyuki said softly, popping his head in the door. Ryousuke looked up from the book he was reading and nodded to the catcher. "How's the patient?" Ryousuke sighed. "Not good?"

"He's losing too much weight," The second baseman said. "I feel like he's going to waist away at this point." Miyuki frowned at the sleeping teen. He certainly looked a little thinner than when he'd last seen the boy, which was quite an accomplishment, since he was already so skinny."

"Do you think you can get him to eat something?" Miyuki asked. "It may also help in his recovery."

Ryousuke sighed again. "If I could get him to eat, it would only be a few spoonfuls."

"Better than nothing."

"Unless he throws up again. Then it'll just make the situation worse."

Miyuki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "There's just no good way to deal with this, is there?"

There was a knock at the door before Kuramochi came in, a cup nestled in his hands. "I thought this might help," He said with a grin. "My mom would make it for me when I was sick, since I couldn't keep anything down either. It was the only thing I could stomach."

Ryousuke gave his friend a grateful smile and closed his book, setting it aside. He sat on the edge of his bed and gently shook Haruichis' shoulder. The sick teen moaned and rolled over, curling into himself. "Come on," Ryousuke said softly, picking him up and putting him in his lap, "I want you to try something for me, alright?"

It took Ryousuke about ten minutes before he could coax Haruichi awake enough to try the tea. "Just a few sips, alright?" Haruichi reached up and wrapped his hands around his brothers which were holding the cup. Ryousuke helped his sleepy brother take a few sips, careful not to spill anything.

The three upperclassman waited with bated breath, letting out relieved sighs when Haruichi continued to slowly sip at the tea. Much to the threes' surprise, Haruichi was able to finish the entire cup. "What was it?" Ryousuke asked as he handed the cup back to his friend.

"Nothing special," Kuramochi said with a grin, "It's just hot water mixed with honey and some lemon. It's not the same as food, but it's better than nothing." He pulled out a thermos and set it on the second baseman's desk. "I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but I brought some more in case it did."

"Thank you," Ryousuke said, smiling gratefully. Kuramochi grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Now you don't have to worry as much," Miyuki said, putting a hand on Ryousuke's shoulder. The third year nodded as he rubbed a hand up and down Haruichi's arm, trying to get him to sleep again. Miyuki and Kuramochi left them alone after a few moments.

When Chris went to check on them, he found Ryousuke was asleep next to Haruichi, one arm bent under his head as a pillow and the other draped around his brother who was curled up next to him. He shook his head and turned off the light before leaving.

Two days later, Haruichi was back up on his feet and healthy. His memories were fuzzy from the few days he was sick, but he knew without a doubt that his older brother had been next to him the whole time. During breakfast, he picked at his food, not very hungry. It was only because of his older brothers' nagging and the other regulars' stares that he managed to actually eat half of his meal.

He would have skipped lunch entirely, had Ryousuke not given Eijun and Furuya _specific_ instructions to make sure he ate at least part of it. The two complied, fearing what might happen if they didn't get their friend to eat.

During dinner, Haruichi barely ate anything, even with Ryousuke's nagging and the other regulars, stares. Ryousuke sighed and decided to go to his last resort. "Haruichi," He said, holding up a slice of strawberry shortcake and vanilla ice cream on the side. Haruichi perked up and stared intently at his brother who smiled. "Do you want it?" His brother nodded. "Ja, I want at least half of what's on your plate-"He never finished before Haruichi's plate was suddenly clean and the cake and ice cream had been taken from him.

All the other regulars blinked, not understanding what had just happened while Ryousuke patted his brothers' head and chuckled.

**/**

**Ran out of ideas for the ending, but managed to slip in Haruichi's sweet tooth ;P**

**Let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	19. Initiation

**This is for all of you who asked for a cat girl Haruichi ;)**

**/**

"What do you think they want?" Eijun asked as he and his two fellow first years headed toward Miyuki's room. They'd all been told meet there an hour before dinner. Furuya didn't respond while Haruichi shook his head.

Before Eijun could say anything else though, Tetsu met them outside the door, three pieces of cloth in his hand. "Put these on," He said, handing the blindfolds to the first years. He stared at them until they complied.

"Why do we have to wear these?" Eijun asked. He jumped when there was a chuckled right behind him.

"For the initiation into the regulars," Miyuki said, catching the pitchers' arm before he could take off the blindfold. "We all had to go through it, now it's your turn." Eijun felt uneasy at the way the second year had said it.

"W-What initiation?" Eijun asked, trying and failing to get away from Miyuki. The catcher chuckled.

"Don't worry," Ryousuke said, putting a hand on his brothers' shoulder, "It's not that bad." Eijun relaxed a little but Haruichi knew his brothers' tone and tensed, not feeling very good.

The three were guided into a room and left standing there while the other regulars bustled about. Their conversations were whispered and covered by the ruffling of fabric, so the first years couldn't hear what was being said.

"We're ready," Kuramochi said with a snicker. He grabbed Eijuns' arm and pulled the pitcher to a different room, ignoring the protests and questions.

Miyuki grinned and grabbed one of Furuya's arms. The black haired pitcher didn't say anything as he was guided to another room.

Ryousuke chuckled and grabbed his brothers' arm, leading the uneasy teen to yet another room.

Curses, cries of help, thuds and crashes could be heard from both Eijuns' and Haruichis' room, though most of the noise was from Eijun and Kuramochi fighting. Only Miyukis' laughter was heard from the room he and Furuya had disappeared to.

Not surprising, Miyuki and Furuya were the first to appear.

"I'm kind of disappointed," Jun said.

Miyuki nodded with a sigh. "It's no fun when they don't care." The first year was dressed in a knee length black dress that had thin straps. Black cat ears had been put on his head while he had a black tail attached to the back of his dress. He simply stared at the regulars, his face betraying no emotion.

Eijun was, surprisingly, the next to appear, and his angry and embarrassed face caused most of the regulars to laugh. He was in a black maid outfit (chosen by Miyuki) with fishnet leggings and black high heels. He had on the same cat ears and tail as Furuya.

"Looks like I choose right," Miyuki said, sliding up to the other pitcher.

"T-This is all your fault!" Eijun shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the catcher.

Miyuki snickered and slung an arm around the first year. "You're going to be my personal maid the rest of the night," He whispered, causing Eijun to freeze before he turned an even darker shade of red and 'started spluttering.

When the door opened again, Ryousuke came in, dragging his brother behind him. He pulled Haruichi in front of him and the first year stumbled, falling to his knees. Instead of getting up, Haruichi sat on the ground, his legs beside him. One hand rested between them while the other rubbed his eye, traces of tears still there.

He was in a white sundress that had a ribbon tied around the middle, forming a bow in the back. Ryousuke had put a white headband in his hair, holding his bangs out of his face before attaching pink cat ears, the same shade as his hair, and a pink tail. The cat ears had little white and pink bows in front of them.

His face was tinged red with embarrassment and his bottom lip quivered slightly as he looked up at the regulars, tears forming in his eyes again. There was dead silence in the room as they stared at him.

Eijun broke it by tackling the small first year to the ground while shouting, "Harucchi's so cute!"

"That's not right," Kuramochi said, one hand covering the bottom half of his face as he looked away, "It shouldn't be possible for it to look that good on a guy. It's just not right." His face, as with the rest of the regulars save Ryousuke and Tetsu, was red.

Tetsu placed a hand under his chin and said seriously, "He must be a girl in disguise."

Ryousuke chuckled and folded his hands behind his back. "Haruichi's a boy, Tetsu."

"No matter how I look at it he doesn't look like a boy," He said, watching as Furuya 'tripped' and elbowed Eijun in the stomach, pulling Haruichi (who now resembled a tomato) toward himself. The two pitchers seemed to forget or no longer care that they were in dresses as well, seeing how they were practically wrestling with each other over Haruichi who was attempting to leave.

Ryousuke blocked the door and said, "You can't leave yet. It's a tradition. You have to stay like that through dinner." Haruichi looked ready to faint at the thought of going outside while dressed like he was.

"Speaking of dinner," Miyuki said, grabbing Eijun and pulling him along, "We're going miss it if we don't hurry!" He pulled the struggling pitcher along with a grin and a gleam to his glasses. Ryousuke put an arm around his brother and guided him out, practically carrying the petrified teen. Furuya and the rest of the regulars followed.

**/**

**Hope you liked it! Anyway, let me know what you think!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	20. Accident

**Thank you Ochineko for the idea! I'll probably write the other one later on ;)**

**/**

"Are you two still fighting?" Kuramochi asked as he and Ryousuke took a break. Nobody knows what the fight was about or how it started, but the brothers' weren't on speaking terms. It had to be pretty bad, since the older had come back with a black eye and the younger had a split lip and bloody nose.

The second year sighed when he didn't get an answer. The two were just too stubborn to talk to each other, and it was affecting the whole team. "Just make up already," Jun said, coming into their 'conversation'.

"It's weird," Miyuki said as he and Furuya came over, "You're always doting on him and practically always by his side. What happened to your brother complex?"

Ryousuke frowned as he surveyed everyone around him. Why did they want _him_ to be the one to apologize? It wasn't his fault. Besides, it wasn't their problem. "I don't have a-"Before he could finish, Eijuns' scream made them all jump. They all whipped their heads around and tried to locate the pitcher.

Miyuki snorted and said, "The ball probably scared him again." Eijun was working with the ball machines, practicing his hitting. At the moment, he was kneeling on the ground, his bat discarded beside him.

The others shook their heads and turned back, only to find Ryousuke had dropped his water and was staring at Eijun, shaking and his eyes wide.

"O-Oi," Jun said, worried about the third year, "Are you alright?" Without answering, Ryousuke ran forward. He grasped the back of Eijuns' jersey and practically threw the first year to the side. It was only then the rest of the regulars saw that Haruichi was there. The younger Kominato was on the ground, a pool of blood beginning to puddle beneath him.

Before anyone could move, Ryousuke had carefully scooped his brother up and was running to the nurse. The coach, who had come when he heard the scream, glared at Eijun and demanded an answer.

"I-It was an a-accident," The pitcher stuttered, still staring in horror at the blood on the ground. "I-I didn't k-know H-Harucchi was-was there."

Miyuki picked up the bat Eijun had been using, examining the blood that was on it. "You must have hit him pretty hard," The catcher commented. Tears began streaming down the first years face.

"Back to practice!" The coach yelled, seeing that everyone had stopped to figure out what happened. "Sawamura, you'll be running laps for the next month and you won't be participating in the next game." The pitcher nodded, knowing he should have been dropped from the regulars or suspended from the club, if not the school. When everyone was slowly heading back to practice, the coach nodded to Chris, who nodded back and began making his way to the nurse.

When he got to the nurses room, he found Ryousuke slumped against the wall outside. He looked up when the catcher sat next to him and gave a small nod. "He's getting stiches," The pink haired male said before Chris could ask. "I didn't want to be in the way."

They were silent for a few moments before Chris spoke up. "It's not your fault." Ryousuke laughed bitterly. "There was nothing you could have done."

"It was a stupid fight," Ryousuke said softly after a few minutes of silence. "I was angry and tired from practice. I wasn't thinking straight." He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on top. "I hit him."

"You were angry." Ryousuke looked up and Chris was surprised to see tears coming out of the shorter teens' eyes.

"That doesn't make it ok." He buried his head into his knees. "We only have each other. And I hit him."

Chris frowned at that. "You only have each other?" He prodded. "What about your parents?"

Ryousuke snorted. "Our father was an abusive bastard who got sent to prison for killing his boss when I entered middle school. Our mother was a drug addict who didn't have time for us and OD'd about a year ago. Their families cut them off when they were teenagers and wanted nothing to do with us. We had to raise ourselves."

"And nobody ever called child services?"

Ryousuke's smile was slightly crooked and hollow. "Nobody cares when you live in the slums. People are killed nearly every day. If you don't learn to steal and fight, you'll die."

Chris was saved from saying anything when the nurse came out. "You can come back in now," She said gently, "Your brother will be fine, just make sure he doesn't do too much for a while. He'll need to come back to have them removed later." Ryousuke nodded and made his way into the room, Chris following behind him.

Haruichi was asleep on the bed, blood still staining his uniform and a bandage wrapped around his head. Ryousuke went forward and sat on the chair next to the bed. He grasped one of his brothers' hands and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry," He whispered, intertwining their fingers. Chris watched for a few moments before he left to inform the coach and give the two some privacy.

Ryousuke didn't seem to notice that the taller third year had even entered the room, let alone left it. He continued staring at his brother, guilt rolling around in his stomach. "It was wrong of me to hit you. You didn't deserve it." He paused and looked down, "I'm a horrible big brother. I was supposed to be looking after you, protecting you. Now look what happened."

He reached forward and stroked his little brothers' hair. For a while, it was silent. Ryousuke stayed next to his brother for the rest of practice and through dinner. As it got later, he eventually fell asleep.

When Haruichi twitched in the morning, Ryousuke shot up, instantly awake. He watched as his brother stirred and slowly opened his eyes, winching at the pain in his head. Haruichi tried to raise a hand to feel his head, but found he couldn't as it was still being held by Ryousuke.

He blinked as he stared at his brother, mind still foggy from sleep. "Onii-chan?" He asked softly.

Ryousuke smiled and nodded. "I'm here," He said, just as softly. Haruichi bit his lip and turned away, causing Ryousuke to frown. "What's the matter?"

"Are you…Are you still mad at me?" He asked in a small voice. Ryousuke felt his heat break at the fear and how young Haruichi sounded. He sat on the bed and gently pulled his brother into a hug.

"I'm sorry," He said. "I was tired and angry and I took it out on you. I was never mad at you. I can never be mad at you." He felt Haruichi relax after hearing that. His brother turned and buried his head (while being mindful of his stiches) into his shoulder and clung to him. "I'm so sorry," Ryousuke whispered, clutching Haruichi tighter and rubbing circles on his back when his brother started crying.

The rest of the regulars stood awkwardly outside the door. They'd come to check on the two, but they didn't want to interrupt. "Well," Miyuki whispered, "At least they're not fighting anymore." With that, he and the rest of the regulars left.

**/**

**I'm just not really good at endings. Oh well. Let me know what you think and keep the ideas coming! They're so much fun to write!**

**~Akirafanatic**

**PS: I'm out of ideas for Training Camp! I can't post more until I get some new ideas! Someone help me!**


	21. Swimming

**Since people were confused before, this is an AU where Ryousuke is 10 and Haruichi is 4**

**/**

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" Haruichi called as he ran to his older brother. Ryousuke chuckled and picked his brother up.

"What is it Haru-chan?" He asked.

"Pool! Mommy said we're going to the pool!" Haruichi said happily, throwing his arm into the air before hugging his brother. Ryousuke chuckled.

"When are we going?" He made his way to his room so he could find his swim trunks and help Haruichi get his. He watched as his brother scrunched up his nose in thought and counted on his fingers.

"This many!" He said, holding up three fingers.

"Three hours?" Ryousuke asked, pausing in his doorway. Haruichi shook his head. "Three minutes?" Again, he shook his head, giggling at the wrong answer. Ryousuke smiled and bounced Haruichi a few times, causing more giggles, before he set him down on the bed.

"I'm guess Haruichi told you already?" Haruna asked as she entered her sons' shared bedroom.

"Ah, but he hasn't told me when we're leaving."

"Half an hour. I'm going to pack up a lunch and your father still has to get back from the market. He should be back soon, I only sent him to get a few things." She went over and kissed her youngest sons' head. "Get your things together and then come down and help me finish up, alright?"

Ryousuke nodded and Haruichi bounced up and down a bit, nodding his head. Haruna left her children to get ready while she started on the lunch. Ryousuke pulled out his and Haruichi's relatively new, matching black swim trunks. When they'd gone to get them a month ago, Haruichi refused to get anything different than his brother did.

"Can you change on your own?" Ryousuke asked, handing the black trunks to the four year old. Haruichi nodded and took the trunks.

Ryousuke smiled and changed into his before finding a plain white tee-shirt to put on as well. He sighed but smiled when he turned and found Haruichi with his own pair on backwards. "I did it! I did it!" He said happily, proudly showing his brother.

"Ah," Ryousuke ruffled his brothers' hair, "But they're backwards. They go on the other way. See?" He pointed to the pocket that was on the front of his. "The pocket goes in the front." Haruichi frowned (pouted) and looked from his brothers to his own, seeing this his didn't have a pocket in the front. Before his brother could start crying, Ryousuke said, "Go ahead and try again. I'll go get your shirt alright?"

The four year old rubbed his eyes and nodded before slipping off the trunks and turning them the correct way. He held up his arms when Ryousuke came with his shirt, allowing his brother to help him put it on.

"Alright, let's go get our towels and then go help mom." He picked up his brother and they made their way out of the room, stopping to get towels from the closet before heading downstairs and to the kitchen.

"Do you have everything?" Haruna asked when they came in. Both her boys nodded. "Alright, then Ryousuke, will you start making the sandwiches? Haruichi, why don't you come help mommy make the rice balls?"

Ryousuke set Haruichi on the counter near their mother and went to start putting together the sandwiches. Their father came home about a minute later and made up a cooler for their drinks. When everything was made and ready to go, the family of four headed to the car.

/

"Put on sunscreen before you get in," Haruna reminded her sons as she and Ryounosuke carried their things. The two boys nodded and Ryousuke helped his brother put some on before putting his own on.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" Haruichi called, holding his floaties. Ryousuke smiled and helped secure them on Haruichi's arms so he could stay up while his brother clutched his kitty inner tube.

"You're all ready now," Ryousuke said, putting a hand on his brothers' shoulder. "Do you want to get in now?"

Haruichi nodded excitedly and held Ryousuke's hand so as not to get lost. The ten year old led his younger brother to the edge of the pool and lowered him in before he stepped in. It was the shallow end, so Haruichi was able to stand up with the water only reaching his waist while it only came to Ryousuke's knees.

"Do you wanna come to the deeper end with me?" Ryousuke asked. Haruichi nodded happily. Taking his brothers' hands, he slowly walked backward toward the deeper end.

Haruichi giggled happily when his feet left the ground. He started kicking his legs all over the place and said, "I'm floating!" Ryousuke smiled at how easily amused his brother was and continued until the was reached his chest. Letting go of one of his brothers' hands, he used the other to twirl the four year old, creating more giggles and shouts of joy.

"Again! Again!" Haruichi said when his brother stopped.

Haruna smiled at her two boys and snapped some pictures of them playing. They really were adorable, and Ryousuke was such a good big brother. The pool wasn't that crowded today, which meant nobody was really getting in the way of her pictures.

"Ne, Haruichi." The four year old turned to his brother and his eyes lit up excitedly when he saw the toy in the ten year olds hands. It was a yellow fish that was able to swim under the water like a real fish, and it was Haruichi's favorite pool toy.

Ryousuke chuckled and switched it on, placing it in the water and letting it go, watching his brother try and chase after it. Taking a deep breath and diving under the water, Ryousuke swam under his brothers' flailing legs and popped up right in front of him, one hand reaching forward and tickling the younger boy.

Haruichi squirmed and squealed in delight, causing his older brother to laugh at how much fun he was having.

An hour later, Haruna called her boys in for a quick lunch. Ryousuke took Haruichi's hands and kicked his legs, slowly swimming backward and pulling his brother along, much to Haruichi's delight.

He helped his brother out of the pool and took him by the hand again so he wouldn't get lost and so he wouldn't try to run. Haruna helped Haruichi take his floaties off and wrapped him in a towel before pulling him onto her lap. "Are you having fun?" She asked, pulling out a container with the rice balls they had made.

Ryousuke chuckled and Haruichi nodded happily and began telling their parents everything they had done, despite the two adults having been watching. He paused only to pick up one of the rice balls he made and hold it out to his brother. "I made this one!" He said proudly when Ryousuke took it.

"Really?" Ryousuke asked, feigning surprise. It was obvious his brother had made it, as they were much smaller than the ones their mother had made. He took a bite and smiled. It was a little clumpy and had too much salt. "It's yummy." Haruichi's smile made the small fib all worth it.

"What about daddy," Ryounosuke whined to his youngest. "Daddy want's some of Haru-chan's yummy rice balls too."

"No!" Haruichi said with a giggle, "They all for Onii-chan!" Ryousuke and Haruna laughed while Ryounosuke pretended to cry.

"What about mommy Haruichi?" Haruna asked, "Can mommy have one?" Haruichi scrunched up his nose in thought for a few seconds before he smiled and nodded. Haruna smiled and picked one up. "It really is yummy," She said after taking a bite, "You did a good job. Thank you for helping mommy make them."

When the family was done with lunch, Haruna decided a little ice cream was in order. "Strawberry! Strawberry!" Haruichi cheered as they waited in line.

Haruna chuckled and picked him up, situation him on her hip. "Does that mean you want strawberry?" She asked.

Haruichi giggled. "Vanilla!" He said with a smile. "I want vanilla!" Ryousuke smiled. Vanilla was his favorite, while Haruichi preferred strawberry.

"And what do you want?" Haruna asked, putting a free arm around her eldest.

"I'll go with strawberry today," He said, earning a smile from his mother.

Haruna put Haruichi down when it was time to order and Ryousuke grabbed his hand to keep him from wandering. When their ice cream was ready, Ryousuke took both his and his brothers. He handed the vanilla to Haruichi and said, "Don't drop it, alright?"

Haruichi nodded and used both his hands to grab the cup, slowly following his mother and brother.

They were halfway back to their seats when a group of teens who had been messing around knocked into the four year old, sending him, his ice cream and one of the teens tumbling into the deeper part of the pool.

Haruna and Ryousuke turned around when they heard Haruichi's scream. The lifeguard blew his whistle and dove into the pool after the drowning child. He emerged with a crying and coughing Haruichi, who clung to his mother the second she was in reach.

"Come here baby," She said, rubbing circles on her sons' back to try and calm him down, "That was scary, wasn't it? Mommy's got you, don't worry." She and Ryousuke walked back to their seats, the ten year old glaring at the teens who were being lectured by the lifeguard.

With a silent glance to her husband, Ryounosuke started to gather their things, deciding that their day at the pool was over. Haruna sat down and wrapped a towel around her baby, rocking him and humming a lullaby. When Haruichi was down to sniffles, she handed him to Ryousuke.

"Look after your brother. I'm going to help your father pack up, alright?" Ryousuke nodded and put his arms around Haruichi.

He took a scoop of his ice cream and held it up to his brothers' face. "Do you want some ice cream?" He asked softly, bouncing Haruichi slightly.

The four year old rubbed his eyes and hiccupped, nodding slightly. He opened his mouth and allowed his brother to feed him, a small smile appearing when he tasted the strawberry. Ryousuke continued to feed his brother, enjoying the way each spoonful would make the small smile a little bigger.

He saw the group of teens head their way and glared at them, tightening his hold on Haruichi a little. The teens stopped and gulped, the combined glares they were receiving from both Ryousuke and Haruna, who was standing behind them, making them want to run.

The lifeguard, who was forcing them to apologize, pushed them forward. "W-We're really sorry," The teen who had fallen into Haruichi stuttered, bowing along with his friends. "W-We never meant t-to hurt anyone."

They nearly ran once they had apologized, and the lifeguard bowed. "I'm sorry you had to have this happen," He said.

"It's not your fault," Haruna said, picking Haruichi up and wiping his strawberry coated mouth with a wet wipe. "Thank you for saving him." She bowed slightly to the lifeguard, who bowed back before heading to his station again.

**/**

**Let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**

**(Posting two chapters today because I'm happy that classes are over! Now all that's left are the finals... :( Wish me luck!)**


	22. Christmas

**So...I had to. I just think Ryousuke is this kind of a brother ;)**

**/**

Haruichi yawned as he blearily watched his older brother dig through his things. He'd been dragged out of bed at two in the morning by his brother, who said he had something important to show him.

"Found it," Ryousuke said with a smile. He picked up the package and turned to his brother who was almost asleep again. "Go put this on," He said, lightly tossing the package onto Haruichi's lap.

"Why?" Haruichi whined, wanting to go back to sleep.

"I need to see if it fits you."

"Why now? Can't we do it later?"

"No. I need it to be ready for tomorrow, and right now is the only time I have to let you try it on. Now go." Haruichi grumbled but made his way to the corner, where Ryousuke had put up a sheet for some privacy and sleepily put on the outfit.

He was dazed by a camera flash when he stepped out, blinking and not processing what had just happened. Ryousuke went forward and added the finishing touches to the outfit. He used a white hairband to hold back his brothers' bangs before putting on the hat.

Haruichi tilted his head sleepily in confusion, and before he could investigate what had been put on his head, Ryousuke took another photo.

"Why are you taking pictures?" Haruichi asked, his brain working at a snails pace.

"Because I need reference for when I make the needed alterations," Ryousuke said easily, snapping another picture. "Now slowly turn so I can see how it fits." Haruichi complied, hoping he could go back to sleep soon.

"Am I done yet?" Haruichi asked after two more outfits, adjustments to the outfits and a ton of pictures.

"Almost," Ryousuke said. "Just let me do one more thing..." He added a belt to the costume Haruichi was wearing and stepped back, nodding to himself. "Perfect." He took a few more photos before he allowed Haruichi to change. "Thank you for your help," He said, ruffling his brothers' hair. "If you're too tired to go back to your room you can use my bed. I'm going to be up for a while longer."

Haruichi smiled gratefully and practically collapsed on his brothers' bed, asleep even before his head hit the pillow.

Ryousuke chuckled and looked at the pictures he'd gotten. "Sorry Haruichi," He said softly, "But had I asked you when you were awake, you never would have done it."

He'd promised a friend from the drama club that he'd find someone to try on the costumes for their upcoming fundraiser. They needed to know how it would look, but the samples they'd gotten were too small for anyone participating, and they couldn't ask for another size because they wouldn't arrive on time.

Of course, the only one Ryousuke knew who would fit the costumes was his little brother, who would have rather died than actually wear them. Hence the reason he had to do it so early in the morning.

Checking the clock and seeing that it was pushing on three, he gathered the three costumes and quietly left the room. No need for Haruichi to see them in the morning and connect what had happened.

Ryousuke quickly made his way to the dorms and up to his friends' room. It only took two knocks before Miru opened the door. "Do you know how late you are?" He whispered, letting the third year in. "You promised to have them done yesterday! I need to send them back and let them know the sizes we need by tonight!"

"You still have plenty of time then," Ryousuke chuckled, enjoying the panicked look on his red haired friend. He held up the costumes. "I just finished."

"Which one was the best?" Miru asked. "And who did you get to try them on?"

"That doesn't matter. See for yourself and you can decide." He handed the camera to Miru, but before he let go he warned, "If anyone, and I mean ANYONE sees these pictures besides you or me, I will personally kill you."

Miru gulped and nodded. He switched the camera on and pulled up the recent pictures. He nearly spluttered when he realized just who had tried the costumes on and why his friend had threatened him. "H-How did you get him to agree to this?"

"I had to trick him into wearing them by making sure he wasn't actually awake at the time," He explained, "So if he finds out that these were taken..." Miru gulped again and raised his hands defensively.

"I swear I won't tell anyone." He looked back down at the pictures and sighed. "I wish he would come help us out. He'd draw in a lot of customers, he's so cute."

Ryousuke chuckled. "You know as well as I do that it won't happen. He hates doing things like this." He looked to the three costumes. All were santa outfits, but all were made for girls. The first was a short dress that went down to mid thigh and had long sleeves that went to the tips of the fingers. It's collar was so wide that it just barely stayed on the shoulders.

The second was similar, as it was also a short dress that went to mid thigh, but instead of long sleeves, it didn't have any and the collar was a regular size.

The last was split into a top and a bottom. The top was the same as the top of the first outfit, with a wide collar and long sleeves, but it stopped short and exposed the stomach. The bottom was a skirt that went down to mid thigh and had a black belt that was worn tilted at the waist.

All three were red and had white fur along the bottom and collar and each were complete with a Santa hat and black lace up boots that went just above the ankle, though another available style were longer lace up boots that went to the knee.

"I think the third will be out best bet," Miru said after going through the photos. "Though some of the girls will want the knee high boots rather than the ankle ones." He handed the camera back to Ryousuke. "Thank you for this."

Ryousuke shook his head. "Any time. Besides, you just helped me get a picture for our Christmas card to our parents."

Miru laughed softly. "You do realize that if he finds out then he's going to kill you."

Ryousuke paused at the door. "It's not the first time," He said lightly before waving to his friend and leaving. When he got back to the room, he hid his camera under his bed and took out a photo album he had under there.

He flipped open the cover and smiled. Every picture was of Haruichi, dressed in some form of girls clothes, dating back to when he was a baby. "It's not the first time," He repeated softly. He closed the cover and put it back before climbing into bed next to his brother.

**/**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	23. Stalker

**So...yeah. Thanks Maiden Warrior for the idea! ;)**

**/**

Haruichi frowned as he looked behind him for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. He let out a frustrated huff and turned back to practice. Everyone could easily see how distracted he was, though nobody knew why.

"Are you alright?" Ryousuke asked, being the closest one.

Haruichi turned to his brother and frowned (pouted). "I keep feeling like there's someone watching me," He said, "But every time I turn around there's nobody there."

Ryousuke frowned and discretely looked back. At first, he didn't see anything, but after a second, more careful scan of the surroundings did he see a strange glint up on one of the roofs. A bad feeling welled up inside Ryousuke, but he turned to Haruichi with a smile and said, "You're probably just imagining things."

Haruichi shifted uncomfortably and looked behind him once more. "I don't like it," He muttered, unconsciously catching the next ball that was hit toward him and throwing it back.

"How long have you felt like this?" Ryousuke asked, already cheerfully planning ways to catch and 'talk' with his little brothers 'secret admirer'.

Haruichi thought for a few seconds before he said, "Two or three weeks ago, maybe?"

Ryousuke suddenly felt cold, the bad feeling coming back in full force. Normally, stalker cases only lasted about a month or two before someone noticed and called the police or...the victim was found missing or dead.

"Don't worry," Ryousuke said, slinging an arm around his brother casually, "I'm sure it's nothing." Haruichi smiled and nodded, trusting his brother. He pushed the feeling of being watched to the back of his mind and brought his attention back to practice.

Later that night, Jun raised an eyebrow as Ryousuke packed a few clothes before gathering up his essentials. "Going somewhere?" He asked.

"I'm going to stay with Haruichi for a few days," Ryousuke said.

Jun rolled his eyes. "He's probably just having girl troubles," The center fielder said, "You don't have to coddle him so much."

Ryousuke frowned and stared at Jun, completely serious. "He has a stalker," He said bluntly.

Jun was silent for a few moments before he swore loudly. "How long?" He demanded.

"Two or three weeks, so far as he knows."

"Ryou-san," Jun said, standing up and pacing, "You have to call the cops. This is serious. It's even more dangerous since the creeps been around so long."

"I know," Ryousuke said, "But I don't want to scare Haruichi."

"Damn it Ryou-san!" Jun yelled, clamping his hands down on the shorter males' shoulders. "Scared or not he needs to know!"

The two stared at each other for a while before Ryousuke sighed. "Say I did call the cops," He started, "What if his stalker suddenly decided to speed things up because he's feeling pressured? I wouldn't hesitate if it had just started, but so late in the game...I don't want anything to happen to him."

"So what are you going to do?" Jun asked, running a hand through his hair. He stopped and shivered at the smile he received.

"I need you to tell coach that I might miss a few days of practice," He said, finishing up gathering his things. "And also to keep an eye on Haruichi for me when I'm not around." Jun sighed but nodded.

"Onii-chan?" Haruichi asked when Ryousuke walked into his room. "What's going on?"

"Jun was messing around and broke my bed," Ryousuke lied easily, "So I'm going to stay with you for a few days until it gets fixed." Haruichi didn't think anything of it as he nodded in understanding.

"I don't know whether to be relieved you accepted it so easily or worried," Ryousuke muttered under his breath.

Haruichi tilted his head to the side. "Did you say something?" He asked.

Ryousuke shook his head. "Nothing. Did you already take a bath?" Haruichi nodded. "Brush your teeth? Finish your homework?" Haruichi giggled a little at his brothers' questions as he nodded. Ryousuke pet his younger brothers head as he smiled. "Good boy."

'Is he your brother or your dog?' Chris thought to himself as he finished the last of his homework, listening to the brothers interacting.

That night, Ryousuke made sure to put Haruichi between himself and the wall, pulling his brother close and imagining exactly what he'd do to the bastard that was stalking Haruichi.

Just as he was about to imagine the creeps head imploding, he felt Haruichi wrap his arms around him. He looked down as Haruichi curled in close and sighed happily. "Good night Onii-chan," He whispered, tucking his head under his brothers' chin.

Ryousuke felt his heart melt at how adorable and innocent his baby brother was. He wrapped one arm around Haruichis' waist, the other coming and running through the soft pink strands of hair. "Good night Haru-chan," He whispered, using his brothers old nickname from when they were kids.

The next morning, Ryousuke and Jun shared a small nod over breakfast, unnoticed by almost all. Miyuki and Chris each raised an eyebrow at the strange gesture, but shook their heads and continued eating.

Jun finished early and sought out the coach before practice started. "Ryou-san wanted me to tell you that he'll be missing a few practices," He said, causing the coach and Takashima-sensei to frown.

"Why would he be missing practices?" Takashima-sensei asked.

Jun scratched the back of his head as he debated, but decided that it'd probably be better if he let the two adults know what was going on. "He's going to confront his brothers' stalker," He told them bluntly.

Their frowns deepened. "Explain," The coach said.

Jun sighed in frustration and said, "Apparently Ryou-sans' little brother has a stalker. According to Ryou-san the creeps been following him for about two or three weeks now. He doesn't want to involve the police, incase that makes the bastard move up whatever sick plans he has."

It was quiet as the adults shared a look. "Why didn't Kominato-kun say anything about this earlier?" Takashima-sensei finally asked.

"Ryou-san didn't know until yesterday," Jun said, folding his arms in front of him, "And his brother doesn't even know he has one. Ryou-san doesn't want to scare him, so he hasn't told him anything."

"This is a serious issue," Takashima-sensei said, thinking aloud. "We can't just leave Kominato-kun to deal with this issue, and his brother really should be notified, along with the authorities."

"Who else knows?" Coach Kataoka asked.

"Just us and Ryou-san," Jun answered.

"Keep it that way," He said, standing up. "I'll give Kominato two days, if he doesn't have this problem solved by then I'll deal with it accordingly." He gave a stern glare to the two others in the room. "Keep him in your sights at all time." He didn't have to elaborate on who he meant.

Outside the door, Miyuki scrambled away when footsteps were heading for the door. 'Heard something I shouldn't have,' He thought to himself as he quickly joined the others for practice. He frowned though, as he spotted Haruichi talking with Eijun and Furuya.

He put his hands behind his head and slowly made his way over, eyes scanning the surrounding area for anyone suspicious. As he got near the little group, he finally saw the small shadow atop one of the rooftops. He smiled like usual and threw an arm around both Sawamura and Furuya, casually blocking the stalkers' view.

"This looks like fun," He said, "Can I join in?" Sawamura frowned and shrugged his arm off. Miyuki simply grinned and ruffled his hair, causing the pitcher to get even more worked up.

Up on the roof that Miyuki had seen the shadow, Ryousuke frowned. He stared at the wires in his hand for a few more seconds before he put them down and made his way to the baseball field.

He went straight to the coach and asked, "Did Jun tell you?"

Coach Kataoka glanced at him and nodded. "I can only give you two days. The tournament is coming up and we can't afford to have our players miss practice."

Ryousuke frowned and said, "I don't think I'll need that long." He glanced at the coach, who nodded at the double meaning and motioned the third year to follow him. he caught Jun's and Takashima-sensei's eyes on the way and the two followed.

Miyuki watched them go, itching to follow and hear the news, but the look the coach gave him made him stay.

"What's going on?" Jun asked as the door to the office closed.

Ryousuke frowned and stared out the window, watching his little brother. "Whoever it is messed with the cameras around school," He told them. "I don't think we have two days. We have to find them now."

Coach Kataoka nodded and said, "The two of you split up and search the school. Takashima-san, I need you to inform the principal and have the staff be on the lookout. Also have him call the police. Whether we find this person or not, it'll be good to have their help. I'll keep an eye on practice."

He dismissed them and they all headed back to the grounds before they split up. Ryousuke took one last glance at his brother, only to frown when he didn't see him. "Miyuki," He said, walking toward the catcher. "Where's Haruichi?"

Miyuki stiffened and turned toward Eijun, who he was last with. Eijun tilted his head and answered, "Harucchi forgot his bat, so he went to get it."

Ryousuke's heart started pounding as he turned in the direction of the dorms and ran. He didn't even make it to his brothers room before he found him. Haruichi was unconscious, slung over another's shoulder.

The man was tall, light brown hair and hazel eyes. He glared at Ryousuke before turning and running, only to find his path blocked by Jun who was holding a bat in his right hand, slowly tapping it against his left.

"Put him down," Ryousuke growled, slowly advancing on the man. He didn't turn around when the rest of the regulars arrived, thanks to Miyuki.

"Harucchi!" Eijun yelled, glaring at the strange man. He clutched the baseball in his hand and was about to raise it when Chris put a hand on his shoulder.

"You might hit Kominato-kun," Chris said softly.

Everyone was tense and silent for a few seconds before all hell broke loose. Everything happened very fast. The man tried to drop Haruichi and run, but was tackled by Eijun, Jun, and Kuramochi while Ryousuke ran forward and caught his brother.

It only took two minutes before they had the man tied and gaged, waiting for the police to arrive. "Jun," Ryou-san said, "Take Haruichi to the nurse." He handed his brother to Jun who nodded and ran, not wanting to be near when Ryousuke dealt out his punishment. The rest of the regulars seemed to have the same idea, following Jun to be out of the soon to be war zone.

When Ryousuke entered the nurses room, he looked way too happy. The regulars parted for him so he could sit next to his brother. He brushed a few stands behind Haruichi's ear and tucked the blanket under his chin before running his fingers through his brothers hair.

"Tranquilizer," Jun said softly, putting a hand on Ryousuke's shoulder. "He should wake up tomorrow morning." Ryousuke nodded and the rest of the regulars filed out of the room, leaving the two alone.

When Haruichi did wake up, he didn't remember what had happened. Ryousuke took the opportunity to lie and tell him that he'd been hit by a stay ball during practice.

Haruichi didn't question it.

/

Let me know what you though!

~Akirafanatic


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